Wisconsin basketball 2015-16 season preview

Overview: After coming up just short against Duke in the national championship game, Wisconsin looks to reach a third consecutive Final Four appearance in 2015-16. This time, though, the Badgers are intending to capture the title. But building upon the success of the past two seasons may be difficult for a Wisconsin team that lost four seniors, including forward Frank Kaminsky—the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year and Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year—and forward Sam Dekker. The five players who departed Ryan’s squad accounted for 65.6 percent of the team’s points last year.

Hayes and Koenig will be trusted with leading the Badgers this season. Hayes was solid for Wisconsin last season, averaging 12.4 points per game and 6.2 rebounds per game. Koenig, who took over as the starter when then-senior point guard Traevon Jackson injured his foot, averaged 8.7 points per contest. Showalter and Brown are the only other returning Badgers who received any significant playing time, so they and Wisconsin’s impressive four-man freshman class will have to step up.

The Badgers enter the season ranked No. 17 in the preseason AP poll behind three Big Ten teams—Maryland, Michigan State and Indiana.

One thing that needs to go right: Koenig shoulders the load as the established starting point guard and replicates his stellar 3-to-1 assists-to-turnover ratio from last season.