Trevon Hughes scored 15 points Wednesday night in Wisconsin's 58-42 victory over Oakland, Mich. It was the final tuneup before the Badgers (2-0) head to the Maui Invitational next week, starting with a game Monday against Arizona. The Golden Grizzlies were the preseason favorite to win the Summit League, but they dropped to 0-2 largely because they have yet to find their shooting touch.

Some things have become cliche in Big Ten basketball circles. Among them? The notion that Wisconsin will wind up becoming greater than the sum of its parts and exceeding everyone else's expectations.

Considering the Badgers have concluded their last 11 seasons with an NCAA Tournament appearance—including the unlikely run to the 2000 Final Four from the No. 8 seed—it's fair to say this particular cliche has been in effect for 11 years running. But a closer look at last year's team suggests there might be a new Wisconsin dynamic at work.

After so many years of seeing the Badgers hang around the top of the Big Ten without an abundance of big-time recruits, everyone pegged them for another title challenge in 2008-09.