When thinking about the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball program many people look at the sustained success that UW has had over the course of nearly two decades. 19 straight NCAA tournament berths and three Final Fours in that span really marked Wisconsin as one of the most stable and high performing programs in the country. However, the program was not always the well-oiled machine we see today.
There were dark days in the Wisconsin basketball program under coaches like Bill Cofield and Steve Yoder, which was followed by three mediocre seasons under Stu Jackson and Stan Van Gundy.