Who are the Badgers most effective players according to advanced stats in 2024?
The Wisconsin Badgers have been one of college basketball’s better teams in 2024, as they’ve gotten deeper and more cohesive as a unit, en route to a 15-4 record and the No. 18 rank in the AP Top 25.
The Badgers have three new starters this season, but have managed to quickly generate success, while getting quality production off the bench as well.
That includes sixth man Kamari McGee, who has essentially operated as an extra starter this season, averaging 7.1 points. 2.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 54.8 percent from three in 22.3 minutes per game.
McGee has essentially played the same amount of minutes as Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter this season, with the Badgers deploying a number of three-guard lineups to match with other opponents over the course of games.
With his numbers, it’s no surprise that he is a part of Wisconsin’s best three-man lineup, which actually ranks as one of the best in the country when it comes to efficiency.
According to College Basketball analyst Evan Miyakawa, the Badgers have the sixth-best three-man lineup in the entire country, which consists of McGee, John Blackwell, and Steven Crowl.
Looking at the top three-man lineups in the country, Wisconsin’s trio ranks second among all lineups when it comes to observed offensive efficiency, which measures lineup performance adjusted for the quality of opponent at 140.0.
Top 3-man lineups at https://t.co/cegyfz96ax
This is based on Observed Efficiency Margin, which measures lineup performance adjusted for opponent quality.
The Love/Dell’Orso/Veesaar combination has been a catalyst for Arizona, and Auburn really needs Broome back. pic.twitter.com/1hMKaGY2XJ
— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) January 22, 2025
That ranks second to only Florida’s trio of Alex Condon, Alijah Martin, and Thomas Haugh, who are all key contributors on the No. 5 team in the country.
Because of the elite offensive efficiency of the trio and good enough defensive efficiency, the Badgers’ three-man lineup ranks sixth in the country with a 51.1 observed efficiency margin.
Thus far, they’ve played a significant number of possessions together, as their 251 offensive possessions and 255 defensive possessions rank among the top in the country, which only makes the efficiency numbers even more eye-catching.
Wisconsin’s depth will be key to their success as the later part of the season comes together. And this three-man lineup is a big part of that, as the Badgers have a bevy of talented guards that complement each other well, leading to some of the best offensive success that the program has seen in recent history.