Tag: big ten basketall

Minnesota basketball loses its top guard to the transfer portal

Wisconsin and Minnesota can agree on one thing:

Wisconsin basketball isn’t the only program getting hit hard by the transfer portal. The Minnesota Golden Gophers just saw their floor general and team leader Elijah Hawkins enter, in a move that Minnesota writer Tony Liebert calls ‘heavily driven by NIL.’

Hawkins averaged 33.3 minutes, 9.5 points and 7.5 assists for the 2023-24 Gophers. He is the program’s all-time record holder in assists in a game (17), assists in a single season (247) and assists in a postseason game (15). His transfer is tough news in what has otherwise been a positive offseason for head coach Ben Johnson and the Gophers.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

Wisconsin fans can draw a bit of a parallel. Three-year starting point guard Chucky Hepburn entered the portal last week after saying he’d return, and after recruiting top transfer wing Frankie Fidler to join the program.

Hawkins has apparently done the same. Just two weeks ago he said “I’m definitely coming back next year.” Now, like Hepburn, he’s in the portal weighing his options.

The current state of college athletics is challenging to grapple with. The worst part are examples like this one: a multi-year starter and program leader reportedly leaving for a big paycheck.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Wisconsin still has one of college basketball’s best resumes

Do you have any hope for Wisconsin making a run in March?

Wisconsin basketball’s struggles since the start of February are no secret.

The team is 2-5 overall, fell from No. 6 in the AP Poll to unranked, relinquished its lead in the Big Ten standings and dropped from a 2-seed to a 4-seed in most bracketologies.

The Badgers haven’t played their best stretch of basketball, that much is clear. However, if one wanted to view the last few weeks positively, the team is 2-1 in its last three games with the loss being a narrow one in overtime to Iowa.

Related: Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin basketball after its big win over Maryland

Regardless of the tough stretch of play, Wisconsin’s season-long resume is still very impressive. The Badgers are 18-9 (10-6 Big Ten), 0.5 games out of 2nd place in the conference standings, ranked No. 21 in the NET and No. 19 in KenPom ratings, has done it against the No. 3 strength of schedule and is top five in both Quad 1 and Quad 1+2 wins.

I get it, the team’s trend since the start of February is disheartening. Fans had a Final Four run on their minds, and now are entering March with tempered expectations.

But Wisconsin’s resume remains one of the best in the nation. The Badgers will make the NCAA Tournament on solid footing, and we know what can happen in March.

History says that writing off a team because of a tough stretch in February is often a mistake.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.