26 games into the season, Wisconsin sits at 16-10 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten which is good for fifth. Though the Badgers are in fifth, they are just one game behind the Nittany Lions for second and can very realistically find themselves with a double bye when the Big Ten tournament rolls around with some help from other teams. What do the final five games look like for the Badgers before they head to Indianapolis for the Big Ten tournament ?
Sunday at 12pm- VS Rutgers (18-9 Overall, 9-7 Big Ten)
Rutgers: 1-6 on the road
Much like their matchup with Purdue, the Badgers will be looking to make up for a road loss from earlier in the season. The earlier matchup came in the daunted RAC where Wisconsin has historically struggled. The Badgers have not come out of the RAC with a win since 2004. On the flipside, the Badgers are a spotless 4-0 when playing Rutgers at home.
In their last meeting with the Scarlet Knights, the Badgers fell 72-65, with Rutgers using a 7-1 run to extend a three point lead to nine in the last two minutes. Wisconsin is a completely different squad from the last matchup. Since then, they are a solid 11-5 and have seen the departure of guard Kobe King and addition of forward Micah Potter. The leading scorer for Wisconsin that night was Kobe King with 24 points. The former Badgers guard scored eight of the last 16 points for UW. Maybe more importantly is the addition of Micah Potter because of the help he can provide for Nate Reuvers against a physical team like Rutgers.
The Scarlet Knights and the Badgers come into the matchup on opposite trajectories. Rutgers has lost four of their last six games while Wisconsin has won four of their last five. UW will look to continue the roll they are on and can add to an already impressive with a win over Rutgers.
February 27th 6pm- @ Michigan (17-9 Overall, 8-7 Big Ten)
Michigan: 10-4 at home
Wisconsin’s second to last road trip of the year comes against the Michigan Wolverines. The game will be their first meeting of the year for the two teams. UW has lost in their last two trips to Ann Arbor with their last victory coming in the 2014-15 season and are 1-4 overall in their last five meetings against Michigan.
Before they meet on the 27th, the Wolverines will travel to Purdue to play the Boilermakers and have been hot as of late. They have won six of their last seven and are a team that was at one point ranked in the top five.
D’Mitrik Trice will once again be put to the test when he faces the tough task of guarding Zavier Simpson while Nate Reuvers will have the tall task of limiting Jon Teske. The trip to Ann Arbor presents one of the last opportunities for the Badgers to notch a resume building win.
March 1st 5:30pm- VS Minnesota (12-13 Overall, 6-9 Big Ten)
Minnesota: 1-8 on the road
March kicks off for the Badgers when they welcome the Golden Gophers to Madison for the second edition of the border battle. The last time around, the Badgers laid an egg after an emotional win over Michigan State at home. The win over the Spartans came after Kobe King officially announced his decision to leave the program with the trip coming to Minnesota coming four days after the win over Michigan State.
Wisconsin was easily handled in the 70-52 loss and could not keep up with the energy Minnesota played with. Since the Gophers thumped the Badgers, they have lost three straight games and will have games against Northwestern and Maryland before they meet with Wisconsin. The juice of a rivalry game and necessity to notch an impressive win should play key roles in how Minnesota comes into the game, but Minnesota is just 1-8 away from ‘The Barn’ with their one win road coming in a non-conference bout with Oklahoma State back in December.
March 4th 8pm- VS Northwestern (6-19 Overall, 1-14 Big Ten)
Northwestern: 1-9 on the road
Senior night this year comes on the eve of the Badger’s season finale. Senior night will be one of the shortest ever with Brevin Pritzl being the lone senior on the 2019-20 squad. For the festivities, Wisconsin will play the 6-19 Northwestern Wildcats in the Kohl Center.
Northwestern has lost ten straight games with their lone conference win and is 1-14 in the Big Ten coming on January 11th against Nebraska. Nebraska sits with Northwestern at the bottom of the conference as the only team with no more than two league wins. On top of that, Northwestern is just 1-9 on the road with their single road win in a non-conference game.
A win over the Wildcats would not do anything to boost Wisconsin’s resume but it’s a game they can’t afford to lose with Big Ten tournament seeding so tight.
March 7th 11am- @Indiana (17-9 Overall, 7-8 Big Ten)
Indiana: 13-3 at home
The season finale for Wisconsin this season comes in Bloomington. In the first meeting with the Hoosiers, Wisconsin took it to IU on the way to a 20-point victory that ended a three game skid for the Badgers while also ending a perfect 8-0 start for Indiana.
The last meeting came with Kobe King as the leading scorer while Micah Potter had yet to be eligible to join the Badgers and since then the Hoosiers are a decent 9-8 that includes a 7-7 mark in the Big Ten.
Wisconsin will have to travel to Assembly arena where the Hoosiers own a fantastic 13-3 record. The Badgers have won nine of the last 11 against the Hoosiers while owning a 4-3 record against Indiana in Assembly Hall since 2010.
The game is the final regular season game for both teams and the Badgers will definitely get everything from the Hoosiers will their NCAA tournament bids completely in the air. Indiana is a team, much like Minnesota, that is very much on the bubble and needs every win they can get.