Forget for a moment that Wisconsin's season ended with a 17-point loss to Davidson in the Sweet Sixteen.

If anyone would have suggested the Badgers would win 31 games this year -- one more than last year -- and go one round further in the NCAA Tournament than last year's Alando Tucker-led crew, they would have been diagnosed as having overdosed on the Badger Kool-Aid.

But Wisconsin regrouped from the loss of three starters, including its top two scorers, and became perhaps the most overachieving big-name school in the nation. The Badgers captured their first Big Ten regular-season title since 2003 and their first postseason tournament crown since 2004.

Wisconsin's consistent excellence was surprising as it needed to find replacements for Tucker, an all-American, and Kammron Taylor, a second-team all-Big Ten guard. And coach Bo Ryan wouldn't allow anyone to forget the Badgers also needed to replace Jason Chappell's presence as a post defender.

The Badgers started slowly as they learned their roles. Duke punished them by 24 in late November. Marquette came to town two weeks later and earned a rare win at the Kohl Center.

But as senior guard Michael Flowers rounded into shape after a preseason sabbatical for personal reasons -- and 6-foot-11 senior center Brian Butch grew into his role as the leader on and off the floor -- Wisconsin began to become a force.

A startling one-point win at Texas on Dec. 29, accomplished with Flowers' last-second 3-pointer and without help from injured point guard Trevon Hughes, gave the Badgers a ton of confidence heading into Big Ten play.

Then Wisconsin showcased its balance as five different players led them in scoring in their first five league games, and all five scored at least 21 points. All along, the Badgers rode their helping man-to-man defense that led the country by yielding just 54.4 points per game. Opponents made just 38.3 percent of their shots.

With three of their top seven players scheduled to graduate, including their best post player in Butch and top all-around perimeter player in Flowers, the Badgers will need to find some new contributors in 2008-09.

Considering how well Wisconsin reloaded after losing Tucker and Taylor, it would be silly to think Ryan's team will do anything less than contend for another Big Ten title next season. It will require some new faces coming forth in the post -- perhaps lightly utilized freshman power forward Keaton Nankivil or incoming four-star freshman center Jared Berggren -- but rest assured the Badgers will be competitive again.

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