Wisconsin is closing in on a 20-win season on the hardcourt this season, which would most certainly place them in the tournament next month. As a result, it seems Greg Gard’s interim job may be turning a bit more permanent.
On Thursday, an official job posting for the University of Wisconsin’s head men’s basketball coach position was discovered by Reddit users. That seems to be a surefire sign Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez has seen enough to make up his mind about the future of the men’s basketball program.
State law in Wisconsin requires a job opening for the University of Wisconsin be posted before being filled. The job posting has a deadline of March 3, which once again suggests Alvarez is going to name Gard, who took over following the sudden retirement of Bo Ryan in mid-December, the permanent coach. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out. A surging Wisconsin team, fresh off a road victory against No. 8 Iowa for a ninth win in the last 10 games, and the short job posting timeline can only mean one thing, and that is good news for Gard.
Wisconsin got off to a bit of a sluggish start this season with Ryan at the helm. Losses to Georgetown and Oklahoma are one thing, but losing games to Milwaukee and Marquette (both at home) were a bad look in the state of Wisconsin. Ryan picked up one final win, against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, before retiring just prior to Christmas.
Since then, Gard has led the Badgers to a bit of a rebound. Wisconsin won his first game as head coach against another in-state opponent, Green Bay. Then it was on to Big Ten play, which opened with a rough stretch, resulting in a 1-4 start in the conference. Things turned around with an upset of No. 17 Michigan State. Since that defeat of the Spartans, Wisconsin has knocked off two top 10 teams in No. 2 Maryland and Iowa in addition to a victory over Indiana in overtime.
Wisconsin has three more games before the Big Ten Tournament begins. The Badgers close out the regular season on the road against Purdue after a home game against Michigan and a road game at Minnesota.
[Reddit]
