Greg Gard
The University of Wisconsin is officially advertising its opening for the position of men’s basketball coach. It could be a good sign for interim coach Greg Gard, who has led the Badgers to wins in nine of their last ten games.
The timing of the application process is not good for coaches at other schools who are getting their teams ready for tournaments. The timing of the posting would indicate that Gard is a strong candidate for the position.
Gard is 11-5 as the interim coach at Wisconsin, taking over after Bo Ryan suddenly retired in mid-December.
Other than Gard, Wisconsin has likely been interested in Virginia coach Tony Bennett. But Bennett, who is in his seventh season at Virginia, has indicated he plans to stay with the Cavaliers.
Bennett spent three seasons as an assistant for the Badgers, two of those three under Bo Ryan before leaving for Washington State.
When Gard took over, the Badgers were a mess and there was little time left before the start of Big Ten play. The Badgers lost four of their first five Big Ten games, then won seven straight.
Wisconsin (18-10, 10-5) currently sits in fourth place in the Big Ten. Indiana, Maryland and Iowa are the only teams with better records and Wisconsin is 3-2 against those teams this season.
The Badgers have three games left in the regular season, the last home game coming Sunday against the Michigan Wolverines.