Excitement flooded Micah Potter on March 1 while he sat and watched his former program clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season title. Well, he was sitting and watching until the closing moments.

His wife caught it all on camera.

Potter leapt to his feet - screaming, pumping and spinning his 6-foot-10 body in 360-degrees, as seen in Elle Porter's tweet that night. Wisconsin pushed ahead on Chucky Hepburn's go-ahead, game-winning three-pointer with less than two seconds in regulation.

Elle's tweet, as of Friday morning, received over 1,300 likes. Micah's quote tweet, with the message "Always and forever!!!!!! Congrats to my family!!!!!!" in reference to the Badgers, drew over 1,800 likes.

"Those guys are my brothers, so to see them have success like that -- especially with the adversity they've had to go through -- no one thought they'd do anything throughout the entire year," Potter told BadgerBlitz on March 5. "They all thought that they'd be, what, 10th in the Big Ten? For them to come out and sweep what everyone thought would be the best team in the Big Ten in Purdue and just have all these big-time games.

"Come from behind, have the resiliency that they have and the toughness that they have and the grit that they have, it's super fun. It’s super fun to see, it's super fun to watch, especially because I've got relationships with all those guys and the coaching staff and all kind of stuff, so I'm just super happy for all of them.”

Wisconsin (24-7) defied odds and preseason predictions to claim a share of the Big Ten regular season championship that March 1 evening inside the Kohl Center. The Badgers eventually locked in the No. 3 seed in the Midwest region for the NCAA Tournament, and they will take on No. 14-seed Colgate (23-11) inside Fiserv Forum during the first round matchup on Friday evening (8:50 p.m. CT, TBS).

BadgerBlitz.com spoke with Potter, who, between his NBA G League schedule, tries to watch games "as much as he can." We also caught up with two other former players, Ben Brust and Brian Butch, about this program this season. All have unique perspectives, as Potter finished his collegiate career with Wisconsin last season. Brust (at Wisconsin from 2010–2014) and Butch (2004–2008)still reside within the state and follow the team with their jobs in sports talk media.

"I think that Coach Gard probably wouldn't admit it, but I bet he's pleasantly surprised that they’re a three-seed in Milwaukee as well, heading into the season," Brust said with laugh to BadgerBlitz.com on Thursday. "Not that he didn't believe in his team, but when you lose as much as you have, the program in itself usually doesn't have a hard time getting guys to step up and step into new roles -- but to take the jump that this young team did in terms of a freshman point guard. That is so hard to do, what Chucky Hepburn has done in terms of leading a team as a freshman.

"The jump that Johnny [Davis] made, I think Brad Davison has done a great job of being like the leader and not trying to do too much. He's picked his spots, and he really seems to have gelled. Then you can talk about Tyler Wahl’s growth but, overall, you could name names. The difference that I feel is a team that plays for each other, and if you have a team that believes in each other, and plays for each other, that sometimes outweighs talent, and a lot of times outweighs talent in college basketball.”

Each former Badger discussed what they have seen from this team in terms of development. Potter, who contributed 11.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in two seasons at UW, mentioned Davis first. The sophomore guard claimed consensus All-America and Big Ten player of the year honors during a 2021-22 campaign that currently sees him averaging 19.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per outing entering March Madness.

“Come tournament time [last season], he was really starting to develop into his own and get comfortable and confident, all that kind of stuff," Potter said. "And then obviously as the coaching staff and team has alluded to, the summer he went with Team USA and played with the best players in the country for - you know, at his age - and he was one of those guys that he competed in, he played really well.

"So I think those things, his confidence has really just kind of taken over a lot for him. The opportunity and his confidence, because he had all the talent in the world even last year, but those two things I think really helped him a lot."

Brust also alluded to confidence, but in the program overall when it has a player of Davis' caliber who can elevate respective teammates' games. He drew a comparison to one of his former teammates, Frank Kaminsky, a first-team All-American who accumulated various accolades during his time in Madison.

“Obviously, the 2015 year when he was National Player of the Year, all the guys were just so confident each of their abilities, and there's also defined roles," said Brust, who currently co-hosts "Scalzo and Brust" on ESPN Wisconsin airwaves. "And I think it's very cliche, but the best teams in college basketball, you simplify, 'Here's what you're going to do, and you're going to do it really, really well.' If you do your piece really well and everyone else does, you have a winning formula. And they found a winning formula."

Potter also alluded to the progress of fellow big man Steven Crowl -- averaging 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season -- who, from practices last year, "was going to be a very, very good player for Wisconsin." He called Wahl "Mr. Do Everything" due to his steady development paired with confidence and ability.

Wahl has "mastered backing people down from the wing, and being patient and finishing around the rim," according to Brust.

"They all just have confidence in their role," he added.

Potter also called out Davison, currently second on the team in scoring (14.5 points per game), as the leader of the team. He also lightly jabbed that his former teammate was "the 60-year-old that he is on that team, the grandpa of the team, being there for his eighth year."

Though he acknowledged UW's lack of depth, Brust also mentioned the bench contributions of center Chris Vogt, and even the play of reserve guard Jordan Davis at Minnesota in late February. After being thrusted into playing time, the sophomore scored seven points in about 20 minutes of action.

Brust, who scored 12.8 points per game while shooting 39.3% from three-point range as a senior during the 2013-14 season, also praised the way the Badgers defend. In particular, he called Hepburn a "stud" when on the ball and complimented Wahl's ability to "chest up and guard guys that are bigger than him in an effective way," and Davis' athleticism and ability to rebound.

"To think that Brad Davison, who's a good defender, isn't the guy who's the best defender, that's an amazing thing," Brust said.

Butch, a current Big Ten Network/FOX Sports analyst who also holds sports talk radio host duties in the state, also noted a key stretch before Big Ten play began. He believes the Maui Invitational in late November -- one where Wisconsin came away with a championship -- was significant, "because not only did Johnny put himself on the stage, it taught these younger guys how to win."

“Then it bought time as far as for their growth," Butch said on Thursday. "Steven Crowl, Tyler Wahl, Chucky Hepburn. All those guys had time to grow, and I think that's why you see the success that they've had.”

Gard finished his seventh regular season as Wisconsin's head coach with 24 wins, nine of which came against Quad 1 teams, according to NCAA's NET rankings as of Friday morning. Gard also was named Big Ten coach of the year, the second time in three years he has been bestowed those honors.

Brust -- when asked about what he has seen from the coaches to help guide the team to its successful season -- believes the staff has identified roles, assisted in the players' growth, and instilled trust.

"It's one of those things where like, if somebody comes out, it's not like, ‘Ah, I'm coming out. Coach doesn't like me,'" Brust said. "It's, ‘I'm coming out, I made a mistake, and you know what? I'm going to go back out there, and I'm gonna do my best and do my job for my team to win this game.’ And that's what I feel.

“I think when the coaches and the players are in line, that's more of a, ‘Look, the coaches know what they're doing,’ and the coaches have found a way to connect to the kids where everyone's on the same page, from head coach to student manager.”

Butch, when discussing what he sees as a former player in the Wisconsin system, pointed to simplicity. He also looked at Gard's adjustment.

“Don't get away from what you're doing, especially when players have changed and times have changed a little bit," Butch said. "I think that's the biggest thing. I'll say this, I think Greg's adapted to the change of players and the way that they operate. I think they have. I think that's the best thing is Greg's been able to adapt to what those players need, but yet still stay true to who he is, and I think that's the biggest thing.

“I know the talk all day today, the talk tomorrow is the same talk that Bo [Ryan] gave us. It's not the, ‘U, rah, rah’ and all these other things. No, it's not that. That's not how they operate. You keep it extremely simple, and you execute what you're supposed to do, and from that point on, you move forward, and I think that's what this group has done. It just helps that you got a guy like Johnny Davis that’s been able to close out games for ya."

BadgerBlitz.com also asked Brust and Butch about any potential x-factors for Wisconsin. Both gave differing answers with two different players highlighted.

For Brust, he looked to Davison's shooting, particularly from deep. The senior sits at 34.8% from three-point range, which currently ranks as the worst percentage mark in his five seasons in Madison.

“I think when Brad Davison finds a rhythm from three, and I know he hasn't had his like he's had seasons where he shot a little bit better from a percentage standpoint, but if he can just get to that 40% range this tournament, knock down a couple timely threes, I look at Brad's offense as the X-Factor.

"If he can be efficient from three-point land, that's when this team is really dangerous is when Brad is hitting shots. Because when Brad's hitting shots, that opens up more space for a guy like Johnny to get downhill.”

Butch first called out his non-negotiables for this team, including taking care of the ball in low turnovers and rebounding. However, he also pointed to Wahl.

“But I think the play of Tyler Wahl, his ability -- especially in the opening rounds -- to be able to switch one through four, to use his versatility, I think that's gonna be very crucial in the success that this Wisconsin team was going to face against Colgate and possibly Iowa State or LSU.," Butch said. "I think that right there, Tyler Wahl and his ability to play one through four, switch, handle quicker defenders, handle quicker guys.

"A great example’s Colgate. They're going to play four guards, so how do you match up that way? Having a guy like Tyler Wahl gives you the flexibility to not really change who you are too much.”

Both Brust and Butch believe this is a team that will make it to the second weekend. After that, however, uncertainty looms. Brust alluded to previous Sweet 16 matchups that have ended with losses

"It's been inches a lot of times – 2012 against Syracuse, up in the Notre Dame game in Philadelphia [in 2016], Chiozza hitting a buzzer beater [in 2017]," Brust said. "As long as you can get to the second weekend, anything can happen, and after all those things that I just said, I'd like to think the tides may be turn the other way in a Sweet 16 game.”

After the first two rounds, "it's all about matchups, and it's all about what can you do to be able to kind of separate yourself," according to Butch.

"But I think this team can go as far as a Final Four, to even possibly get in the national championship. Anytime you've got a player of the year on your roster, you have an opportunity to win the whole darn thing, and that's what this Wisconsin program has.

"They have the opportunity to win the whole darn thing. But they've just got to be able to hit some shots, not turn the ball over and play Wisconsin basketball. But I love the draw that they have. Absolutely love it.”

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