The significance of Wisconsin’s win over Michigan State went far beyond the many obvious components of the feat engineered by the Badgers on Saturday.
Yes, the win shored up Wisconsin’s resume and dramatically reduced the chances this team will miss the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers aren’t a lock, but they moved several notches above bubble territory. It would take a plague of locusts (think of a week 100 times as bad as the week Wisconsin had from last Friday versus Purdue through last Thursday, with the departure of Kobe King and the suspension of Brad Davison, PLUS the two losses on the road in West Lafayette and Iowa City) to deny UW a trip to the Big Dance at this point.
The win was bigger than snapping a two-game losing streak. The win was bigger than beating Tom Izzo and the most prominent Big Ten basketball school of the past 20 years. The win was bigger than an undermanned team pulling together and rallying around head coach Greg Gard.
Wait a minute, how can a win be bigger than that?
It can be bigger than that because this was a win which led prominent and beloved Wisconsin basketball alumni to publicly express how important this moment was and how happy they were for the team and the head coach.
See for yourself: After the win on Saturday, Jordan Taylor spoke up about the importance of the win and how much Greg Gard means to Wisconsin basketball:
People can say what they want, I’ve never been around a coach who cares more about helping young men get better and find success than @GregGard https://t.co/q4DkajtIyb
— Jordan Taylor (@JMTaylor11) February 1, 2020
Jon Leuer made it a point to note how every Badger — players and coaches — united in a moment of adversity instead of falling apart and dissolving into dissension or hopelessness (if not both).
Hell of a win!!! Coach Gard and his staff deserve a ton of credit for this one. Everyone came together in the midst of adversity. Makes me proud to be a Badger #OnWisconsin
— Jon Leuer (@JonLeuer30) February 1, 2020
One of the two iconic Wisconsin basketball players this century, Frank Kaminsky, made sure to say how impressive it was that this team and coaching staff responded to a brutal week with a winning effort against Michigan State:
Anyone can lead a team when it’s easy. You find out a lot about a leader when things are hard. Can’t give Coach Gard enough credit for constantly battling through what he’s had to deal with this year. And very proud of @BadgerMBB for rallying together today. #OnWisconsin
— Hippo Kaminsky III 🦛 (@FSKPart3) February 1, 2020
Gard has this to say about Saturday’s win:
“I’m proud of the guys in the locker room and what they represent. They understand they represent a lot more than themselves. There’s a lot of former players that take pride in having worn that jersey.”
This was no ordinary win. This win was so much bigger than a better place in the Big Ten standings and severe reduction of bubble-related worries.
Wisconsin basketball alumni pounded home that point.