When the No. 15/17 Wisconsin men’s basketball team (8-4 Big Ten, 19-6 overall) takes on Penn State (3-10, 11-15) Sunday the athletic department will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Badgers team.
The 2002 squad remains a special team because of its magical run to capture a share of the Big Ten title in head coach Bo Ryan’s first season at the helm of the program.
“We only had like seven scholarship players that season because of injuries and transfers,” Ryan said. “We got a few breaks along the way that season, but you have to make your breaks. The guys worked hard and it felt good.”
Perhaps if Ryan had not had such a successful first season (winning the school’s first conference title since 1947) he may not have attracted players like Devin Harris, Alando Tucker, Brian Butch and senior point guard Jordan Taylor. Despite the immediate turnaround, Ryan doesn’t necessarily credit himself with the success of the program—success that has meant a run of 12 consecutive NCAA tournament berths the sixth longest such streak nationally and second longest in the conference.
“I wish I could say that the season caused us to get better players, but recruits have so many options these days that it didn’t really have an effect,” Ryan said. “What it really did was get people believing. I didn’t realize how hungry people were for a Big Ten championship at Wisconsin.”
Fast forward 10 years and Bo Ryan finds himself dealing with a team that is battling through a Big Ten conference slate where no team seems to be able to establish itself as the front runner.
Following its victory on the road over the Badgers, No. 6 Ohio State (9-3, 21-4) appeared to be the team that emerged from the pack. However, a 58-48 home loss to No. 8 Michigan State (9-3, 20-5) has left the Big Ten race wide open.
Entering the week, four teams are within a game of the conference lead and five teams are ranked in the top-20 nationally by the Associated Press. This year’s race for the conference title has Badger fans remembering the 2002 campaign again, a season in which four teams tied for a share of the conference championship with 11-5 conference records.
“We stole a couple games on the road by one point against Michigan State and Indiana. There just wasn’t a real dominant team in the Big Ten that year,” Ryan added. “You say 11-5 how many years do you win the conference with that record? That’s pretty unique.”
Perhaps history is destined to repeat itself Thursday as Ryan and company head out on the road to face Michigan State. For college basketball fans the Bucky versus Sparty matchup is a chance to see arguably the two best coaches in the Big Ten square off in Ryan and Spartans head coach Tom Izzo. The two coaches are the active leaders in conference victories and have combined for 25 consecutive NCAA tournament berths. To say that Izzo and Ryan are familiar with each other’s style of play and tendencies would be an understatement.
“They are a good, strong, athletic team that can beat you in a lot of different ways,” Ryan said of Michigan State. “But everyone knew that going into this week so it doesn’t really change how we are preparing.”
The two have developed a great rivalry ever since Ryan and his scrappy Badgers squad knocked off Izzo and the Spartans at home 64-63 in 2002 in their first ever meeting. In fact, Ryan began his career 6-0 against the conference’s most iconic active coach before Izzo was able to break through.
“If the juices aren’t flowing for what we’ve got coming you need help,” Ryan said. “We’ve got quite a stretch coming up, and our juices are always flowing.”
