The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off another excellent regular season that ended in March, which was far too soon. But a painful 83-82 defeat to High Point in the first round of the NCAA Tournament brought their season to an end, despite a 27-10 finish to the year and the five seed in the competition.
The Badgers have either missed the tournament altogether three times since the 2017–18 season or been knocked out in the tournament’s second round. In seven of those years, Wisconsin had 20 or more victories. Greg Gard will attempt to reverse that course. However, the team’s elite commitment to Illinois was lost in 2026–27, making the position somewhat more difficult.
Illinois loses its in-state devotion to Badgers basketball.
Zavier Zens, a three-star Wisconsin high school prospect, has pledged to Illinois. The report first appeared on Twitter (X):
Zens is rated as the 237th-best player in the class of 2026 by the 247Sports Composite rankings. Despite being named Wisconsin’s Mr. Basketball, Zens is ranked third among the state’s top players.
Prior to joining the Illini, Zens won three consecutive state championships at Wisconsin Lutheran. He is also related to Kon Knueppel, an NBA rookie. He averaged 23. 6 points, 5. 4 rebounds, and 4. 5 assists throughout his senior year.
