Bo Ryan: The Best Regular Season Coach You've Ever Met

I didn't want to write it because I know the hellstorm will come shortly but I had to. I could not live with myself if I didn't mention it.  The Badgers are a lousy NCAA Tournament team. Every year under Bo Ryan they seem to have a team that could be built for a deep run. Hell, I said it this year with the growing play of Jon Leuer and the deep bench.  But like every year, the Badgers picked the NCAA tournament to lay their biggest egg of the season. 

The ever faithful Wisconsin Badgers got beat by 22 by an Ivy League school. A team that has no athletic scholarships, rather academic all-stars. Only my fail bringing a girl from the bar was worse than the Badgers performance today.  They didn't play defense, made silly turnovers, and Jason Bohannon's disappearing act was better than ever before.  Cornell did shoot very well, but I would argue the Badgers' half-ass defense was the cause of the hot shooting, many times the Fightin' Nard Dogs were wide open. I said it when the Badgers won... I mean Wofford gave the game to Wisconsin. But can we all finally say that Bo Ryan is a great coach in the regular season but his teams/offense is not built for the postseason?  I mean if you want me to bust out the statistics... well you ask for it. 

2001-2002: Share of the Big Ten Title in a fairly weak season earned Wisconsin an 8 seed. The Badgers went on to win game one against St. John's and then blown out by the eventual National Champion Maryland.

2002-2003: Won the Big Ten Title outright, got a five seed where they beat a 12 seed and a 13 seed in Weber State/Tulsa. The Sweet 16 turns out bitter as they lose a close one to the overall number one Kentucky (then beat by Marquette.. whoops how did that get there!) 

2003-2004: Won the Big Ten Conference Tournament but got screwed by the NCAA officials somewhat (people fail to point out they played in Milwaukee for the first two rounds, a 80 minute drive from Madison). They get beat at their own game by Pittsburgh. 

2004-2005: Wisconsin finishes third in the Big Ten, still gives a six seed based on good conference tourney play. The Badgers cakewalk to the Elite Eight by beating 11 seed Northern Iowa, 14 Bucknell, 10 NC State then get beat by much much more athletic North Carolina team (EDIT: I read the score wrong, I apologize for the screw up, no they did have a lead on UNC late to my remembering the game clearer but still doesn't take away from their defeat) Face it, they get beat by Kansas or UConn had they won. 

2005-2006: A down year for the program that leads to nine seed plus a twenty-point defeat in the NCAA Tournament to the Arizona Wildcats (Grandpa Dan tells me they don't get blown out... Child Please.)

2006-2007: Wisconsin gets their first number one ranking in history and get a two seed only to fall in the second round to UNLV in Chicago where it was likely 98% Badger fans. They couldn't score to save their souls, played asleep the entire game. I remember people telling me how this was their year and how bad they played against the Rebels.

2007-2008: Wisconsin earns another high seed and this appeared to be their year. They destroyed a much more athletic team in Kansas State with Michael Beasley/Bill Walker, then ran into a train known as Stephen Curry losing 73-56. I wouldn't expect Wisconsin to win that game but the defensive coaching of Ryan, I would have expected a closer game.

2008-2009: The Badgers sneak into the tourney as a 12 seed and advance with Trevon Hughes hitting a three at the buzzer which oddly enough was Ryan's first win in the NCAA against a seed 10 or higher.  Then they lost to Xavier who had a great team.

I know people love the Swing Offense, a trademark of Bo Ryan but it doesn't work in the tournament. The pseudo Big 10 style that Michigan State and Ohio State run is the perfect example of why both of these teams find themselves in the Sweet 16 fairly often. As damning as it might be for Ryan, changes need to happen in the swing offense to make them work for the tournament. I know many Badger fans are okay with winning Big Ten titles and making the tournament every year, but when does that become just a standard and start expecting more?  I assume that time is coming in the next two or three years.  Once Bo Ryan makes it to the Final Four or a convincing deep run is the day I shut up regarding this topic.

-Charlie.