Who Are the Biggest Villains in Wisconsin Basketball History?

2) The Kentucky Wildcats 

Apr 5, 2014; Arlington, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison (2) is mobbed by teammates after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers 74-73 in the semifinals of the Final Four in the 2014 NCAA Mens Division I Championship tournament at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

With every good movie villain comes a triumphant victory for the “good guys” in the end. However, Wisconsin basketball had to wait an entire year before they could get the last laugh. 

Badger basketball fans will never forget Bo Ryan’s 2013-14 team that finally broke through and helped get him to his first-ever Final 4. 

UW went on a magical run leading them to Arlington, Texas, where they faced John Calipari and the 8th-seeded Kentucky Wildcats. The winner would take on the No. 7 seed Uconn Huskies for the national title. 

Holding a 73-71 lead over Kentucky with time winding down, Aaron Harrison hit a highly contested three-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining to put the Badgers down two.

Starting point guard Traevon Jackson brought the ball up the floor and got a decent look from mid-range that ultimately bounced out and left Wisconsin basketball fans with a pit in their stomach. 

Then, all was made right in the world…

Wisconsin basketball returned their core players (minus Ben Brust) in 2014-15 and took college basketball by storm. 

UW finished the regular season 36-4, became the most efficient offense in the history of KenPom analytics, and won the Big Ten regular season and postseason titles en route to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. 

The Badgers parlayed that success into a tournament run with wins over Coastal Carolina, Oregon, North Carolina, and Arizona, which finally earned them a rematch with the undefeated 38-0 Kentucky Wildcats — college basketball’s top defensive team in history — featuring nine players who wound up in the NBA. 

And as the story goes, Wisconsin basketball made sure there would be no undefeated season, slaying arguably one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time en route to a championship appearance, UW’s first since 1941. 

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