Meet the Big Ten: Wisconsin

At the beginning of last season Wisconsin was working under a first-year head coach in Bo Ryan and had only nine scholarship players on its roster.\nThe Badgers were considered a program with a long rebuilding process ahead of them. \nBut instead of accepting their role as a second-tier team, the Badgers went 11-5 in the Big Ten, tying IU, Illinois and Ohio State for the conference crown.\nIllinois coach Bill Self said, this year, Wisconsin won't be considered underdogs.\n"I thought that Bo and his staff did a remarkable job last year," Self said. "And if (Wisconsin) did sneak up on anybody last year, it won't happen this year."\nAs for Ryan, he is approaching his second season the same way he approached his inaugural term.\n"Last year I was scared, and this year I'm gonna stay scared," he said. "But you keep looking at film and you keep doing things and you just say, 'alright, we can do this.' It would be nice to have 13 scholarships some day."\nShooting guard Kirk Penney, the sole Wisconsin senior, will pick up some of slack for the lacking depth on the squad this season. He averaged 15.1 points per game as a junior and is a major threat from the perimeter. \nSophomore guard Devin Harris will look to build on his solid freshmen campaign in which he averaged 12.3 points per game and set Wisconsin freshman records for minutes played, 3-pointers made, 3-pointers attempted, free throws made, and free throw percentage.\nJunior center David Mader and sophomore forward Mike Wilkinson are the only experienced big men on the team and will be expected to make the largest contributions in the frontcourt.