The Badgers are firmly on the bubble heading into the final month of the regular season.
The Wisconsin Badgers are in an unexpected place midway through their conference slate, as they’re on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament after starting the year as a Top 25 team.
The Badgers have lacked the high-end wins that are usually required of a top-six seed, garnering only one Quad 1 win in six opportunities, and they’ve been beaten handily in a couple of games. However, after initially being one of the top teams projected outside of the bracket, the Badgers have put themselves in a better spot over the last few weeks by winning seven of their last eight games.
But they face the toughest stretch of their schedule over the next two weeks, playing Indiana (road), No. 5 Illinois (road), No. 10 Michigan State (home), Ohio State (road), and Iowa (home). All of those games are currently projected to be Quad 1 opportunities, so there is a lot of room to either grow or diminish their resume down the stretch.
Where are the Badgers currently in the tournament outlook?
In ESPN’s latest bubble watch, the Badgers are in the “Should Be In” category, along with Iowa and Indiana in the Big Ten.
“The Badgers boosted their case with a 10-point home win over fellow bubble-dweller Ohio State on Saturday; it was their seventh victory in eight games,” ESPN’s Neil Paine wrote. “They still sit around 40th in the national consensus résumé ranking, which is prime bubble territory.
“But they also sit eighth among the 10 Big Ten teams tracking for bids. The schedule does not let up anytime soon, either, with four straight Quadrant 1A contests coming up next that could provide signature wins (they’ve beaten only one Quadrant 1 opponent thus far) or knock their odds into shakier territory.”
ESPN is projecting 10 bids for the Big Ten, and Paine currently has the Badgers in the Top 8 of the conference (which matches where they rank in the AP polls). But it’s notable that they face both Iowa and Indiana, who are classified as “Should Be In” teams over the next two weeks.
The four teams with “Work To Do” in the Big Ten are UCLA, USC, Ohio State, and Washington. The Badgers have already beaten UCLA and Ohio State, but have a rematch with the Buckeyes in Columbus. They did lose a nail-biter at home to USC, which was Wisconsin’s second Quad 2 loss. And they’ll travel to face the Huskies at the end of February.
At this stage, every game feels magnified, as Wisconsin is facing a ton of teams that are vying to make the tournament. They’re in the mix right now, but being on the bubble can always be dangerous at this time of the year. Buckle up, folks.
Category: General Sports
