What’s the first name that pops into your head when thinking about the top basketball coaches pacing up and down college courtsides these days?  North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski probably come to mind for many.  UConn’s Jim Calhoun and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim from the Big East, John Calipari from Memphis, Ben Howland out at UCLA and Kansas’ Bill Self will also draw interest.

One name that is likely to be left out of the discussion is Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan who brings his Badgers into Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg on Monday to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies.  Ryan is overlooked despite being one of just 16 active head coaches with 500+ career wins, Ryan has posted a 178-61 record (.745) in this, his eighth season at Madison.  In the past two seasons, the Badgers’ 61-11 record is fifth behind Memphis, Kansas, North Carolina and UCLA.

But being upset the past two NCAA tournaments has cost Ryan and Wisconsin getting their due as an elite college hoops program and being mentioned in the same breath with the UCLA’s and UNC’s, the Krzyzewski’s and the Calipari’s.

The Badgers failed to make the Sweet 16 as a 2-seed in the 2007 tournament when UNLV upset them 74-68.  And this past March they ran into Stephen Curry and the 10th-seeded Davidson Wildcats who put a 73-56 spanking on Wisconsin as a 3-seed.

Ryan and the Badgers (5-1) are hoping to gain some respect this year, and big wins in their next two games would certainly help.  First up is tonight’s game on the road against the Hokies who come into this ACC-Big Ten challenge 4-2 on the season.  And though Wisconsin can’t afford to look ahead to the weekend just yet, their Saturday date in Milwaukee against their Cheese State rivals from Marquette is no doubt in the back of their minds.

Wisconsin had a shot to gain a little attention last week in the Virgin Islands at the Paradise Jam Tournament, but fell to Calhoun and No. 2 Connecticut 76-57.  The Huskies completely frustrated the Badgers who committed 22 turnovers that were converted into 31 UConn points.

The Badgers rebounded from that loss with a 67-46 cakewalk against their sister school Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  Joe Krabbenhoft (Sr, 6-7) scored 12 in that game along with 10 rebounds.  Trevon Hughes (Sr, 6-0) led Wisconsin with 16 points in the win.  The Badgers also played with more focus against the Panthers, committing just five turnovers.

Only two seniors and five upper classmen dot the Virginia Tech roster this season, leaving head coach Seth Greenberg a lot of youth to work with in his sixth season with the Hokies.  Greenberg, with a 301-240 overall coaching record and 88-70 at Va Tech, is getting some help so far from a pair of his sophomores who have stepped up to average over 16 points each in the six games the Hokies have played.

Jeff Allen (6-7) leads Va tech at 16.8 per game while hauling in over 10 rebounds per contest that includes 17 last week in a 77-73 loss to Seton hall at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.  Malcolm Delaney (6-3) is the other super soph in Greenberg’s stable this year.  Like Allen, Delaney has reached double-digits in all six games to come into this game averaging 16.3 per game.

Both of Virginia Tech’s losses were close games in the PR Tourney.  The Hokies were nipped by Xavier, 63-62, in an overtime thriller before dropping the 4-point decision to Seton Hall.  With their tough ACC schedule ahead, this is going to be Va Tech’s only chance to beat a ranked team before conference play starts in a month.

The linesmen have set the Hokies as 2½-point favorites against the Badgers, with the total yet to be posted.  Both teams have a lot to play for tonight, and trying to determine which team will be in the best frame of mind for the game is the most difficult part of capping a game like this.  But I'm going to take the points and the Badgers in this one partly because Ryan knows his crew got the easiest draw in this inter-conference challenge as far as the top Big Ten teams go.

Purdue will have to take on Duke on Tuesday while Michigan State will have the top-ranked Tar Heels of North Carolina in on Wednesday.  Ryan has to have his Badgers ready to take on the Hokies tonight and possibly gain a little ground on his conference rivals in the rankings.