Tag: Standings

Wisconsin basketball is days away from being a top-5 team in the nation

Wisconsin basketball has yet to take the court since its dominant 81-66 win over Michigan State on Friday night. At the time the Badgers

Wisconsin basketball has yet to take the court since its dominant 81-66 win over Michigan State on Friday night. At the time the Badgers were the No. 13 team in the nation and were finishing up a 2-0 week with the win over Michigan State and one on the road at Minnesota. The next AP Poll release moved the Badgers seven spots up to No. 6 in the nation.

So today, February 1, 2024, Greg Gard’s team is 16-4 (8-1 Big Ten), in first place in the tough Big Ten race and now ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll. Well, the team is about to rise without having played a game yet this week.

That is thanks to a crazy Tuesday night across the college basketball world. Big upsets headlined the night including South Carolina winning on the road at No. 5 Tennessee and Georgia Tech with a home upset over No. 3 North Carolina.

That means No. 1 will be UConn which continues to win, No. 2 should be Purdue if it doesn’t lose at Wisconsin on Sunday and No. 3 may be Houston who was ranked No. 4. There could be two open spots in the top five of the AP Poll. The potential rise would be Wisconsin’s first week spent in that category since Week 2 of the 2020-21 season, and the second instance since the 2014-2015 team spent almost the entire year in the top five.

Wisconsin will need to keep pace and defeat Nebraska on the road later tonight before turning around for a pivotal home matchup Sunday afternoon against Purdue. A 2-0 week would ensure a top-5 rating in the next AP Poll, while a 1-1 week with a tight loss to Purdue might also accomplish that feat.

Nevertheless, Wisconsin is in a prime position entering the final month-plus of the regular season.

Wisconsin remains a top seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology

Wisconsin remains a top seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology

The Wisconsin Badgers are clinging to a 2-seed in Joe Lunardi’s latest Bracketology.

The bracket was released before the team’s narrow road victory over Minnesota. So in a week where the team dropped a game at Penn State and won resoundingly against Indiana, it makes sense for there to be a bit of a slide.

Lunardi currently has the Badgers as the No. 8 overall seed in the tournament, behind No. 1 Purdue, No. 2 UConn, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Tennessee, No. 6 Arizona and No. 7 Kansas.

Greg Gard’s team currently sits atop the Big Ten Conference with a 7-1 record, 0.5 games better than Purdue. The group has one of the conference’s toughest remaining schedules, though, so expect opportunities for big swings in the team’s seeding as we enter the final stretch of the season.

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard reached a significant milestone with win over Minnesota

Wisconsin HC Greg Gard reached a significant milestone with win over Minnesota

Wisconsin escaped Minnesota with a 61-59 win earlier tonight, improving to 15-4 on the season and 7-1 in Big Ten play.

Aside from the struggle to the end and general second-half struggles, the win was a big one for head coach Greg Gard. It was the 100th Big Ten win of his coaching career.

The long-time Badger head coach is now one of only 23 coaches to accomplish the feat, with former Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan obviously among those names.

Gard is already up to No. 29 in all-time wins by Big Ten coaches, both in-conference and out-of-conference, with a record of 178-97.

The distribution of his Big Ten wins has gone as follows:

  • 2015-16: 12-6
  • 2016-17: 12-6
  • 2017-18: 7-11
  • 2018-19: 14-6
  • 2019-20: 14-6
  • 2020-21: 10-10
  • 2021-22: 15-5
  • 2022-23: 9-11
  • 2023-24 (in progress): 7-1

Wisconsin is back in action Friday night at home against Michigan State.

Wisconsin basketball has one of the Big Ten’s toughest remaining schedules

Wisconsin basketball has one of the Big Ten’s toughest remaining schedules

Wisconsin basketball is off to one of its best conference starts in decades. Despite dropping a road game at Penn State last week, the team still sits at 6-1 and holds a 0.5-game edge on Purdue for first place.

The Badgers have already been through quite the gauntlet, facing Arizona, Marquette, Virginia, Tennessee and Providence in their non-conference slate. The team, now ranked No. 13 in the nation, survived the tough slate — something it will need to do down the stretch of the Big Ten season.

Ben Stevens recently tweeted out what ESPN BPI has as the toughest remaining schedules in the conference. Wisconsin came in at No. 2, with close competitors Illinois at No. 5 and Purdue at No. 11

The Badgers still have two games left against Purdue, one at home against Illinois and other sneaky-tough ones at Nebraska and at Rutgers.

Greg Gard’s team is playing great basketball at the moment. That play must be continued, and maybe elevated, if a Big Ten Championship is any possibility.

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Minnesota

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Minnesota

Wisconsin basketball is back in action tomorrow night as it visits the 12-6 Minnesota Golden Gophers.

The Badgers are off a 1-1 week with a disappointing loss at Penn State and a resounding home victory over Indiana. The group remains towards the top in the KenPom ratings and alone atop the Big Ten.

Minnesota, on the other hand, enters with a 3-4 conference record and a three-game losing streak. The Gophers are KenPom’s No. 93 team in the nation and No. 11 team in the Big Ten.

It’s a game Wisconsin must have if it wants to keep pace ahead of Purdue in the conference standings.

Here’s how to watch tomorrow night’s contest:

  • Date: Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024
  • Time: 7 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. CT
  • TV Channel: Big Ten Network

Wisconsin is now one of the best offensive teams in the country

Wisconsin is now one of the best offensive teams in the country

If someone read that headline at the start of 2023, I can almost guarantee they would assume it would be referring to the Wisconsin football team and Phil Longo’s air raid offense.

That is not the case. Greg Gard’s Wisconsin basketball team shot their way to a 91-79 win over Indiana last night, improving to 14-4 on the season and 6-1 in Big Ten play. Notably, the performance also thrust the group to KenPom’s No. 4 team in overall offensive efficiency.

The team is now ranked behind only Alabama, Purdue and UConn. Not only impressive given the company, but especially so given Wisconsin’s classic defense-first identity.

The Badgers average 1.14 points per possession and 76.5 points per game. Those two numbers may not jump off the page, but one must consider the context of the team playing at a slower pace — hence KenPom’s ‘efficiency.’

The excellent offensive season can be attributed to Greg Gard’s recent transfer addition of A.J. Storr, but also Max Klesmit’s breakout and the steady play of veterans Chucky Hepburn, Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl. Then add John Blackwell’s significant potential as a true freshman and the deepest bench we’ve seen the team have in years, and you get a dangerous offensive group no matter the five on the floor.

This may be Gard’s best shot at a Final Four yet.

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Indiana

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Indiana

Wisconsin basketball needs a bounce-back performance after its six-game win streak was snapped on the road at Penn State earlier this week.

The Badgers still sit at 13-4 on the season and atop the conference with a 5-1 record. But the loss pushed the team back toward the pack and allowed 5-2 Purdue to inch within 0.5 games.

Tonight, a win is necessary for Greg Gard’s team as it welcomes in 12-6 (4-3 Big Ten) Indiana. With the game back home at the Kohl Center and the Hoosiers currently ranked No. 94 in KenPom, signs point towards a bounce-back performance.

But, it is the Big Ten. We’ve seen more surprising results as recently as earlier this week when the Badgers lost to Penn State.

Here is how to watch tonight’s contest between Wisconsin and Indiana:

  • Date: Friday, Jan. 19, 2024
  • Time: 8:30 p.m. ET, 7:30 p.m. CT
  • TV Channel: Fox Sports 1

Wisconsin enters KenPom top 10 after win over Northwestern

Wisconsin enters KenPom top 10 after win over Northwestern

Wisconsin edged Northwestern 71-63 yesterday afternoon, improving to 13-3 on the season and 5-0 in Big Ten play. The start is the Badgers’ best since 2007-2008, and has the team trending as one of the best in the nation.

Greg Gard’s team entered yesterday ranked No. 11 in the KenPom rankings, carried by an offense that is on its way toward being the best of the Gard era. Yesterday’s win officially moved the team into the top 10 of the ranking.

The Badgers are now No. 10 overall, No. 6 in offensive efficiency and No. 32 in defensive efficiency, all with the seventh-toughest schedule in the nation.

Big Ten foes Purdue (No. 3) and Illinois (No. 9) still rank ahead. But with Wisconsin stacking conference wins with impressive play at the moment, it isn’t hard to seeing the conference run through Madison this winter.

Up next for the Badgers is a trip to Penn State on Tuesday, before hosting Indiana at the end of the week.

Wisconsin is off to its best conference start in 16 years

Wisconsin basketball is off to its best conference start in 16 years

Wisconsin defeated Northwestern 71-63 earlier today, improving to 13-3 on the season and 5-0 in conference play.

The win is the Badgers’ sixth straight and 12th in the last 13 contests. Minus the inevitable continued rise in the AP Poll, KenPom and NET rankings, it should be noted and celebrated that it is the program’s first 5-0 start in conference since 2007-2008.

That 2007-2008 team finished 31-5 overall, 16-2 in Big Ten play and ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll.

This Wisconsin team has a chance to best those marks, especially if it continues its current level of play. I’d argue it is on track to be the best team of the Greg Gard era and the program’s best since the 2015 Final Four team.

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Northwestern

How to watch Wisconsin basketball vs Northwestern

Wisconsin basketball will look to extend its five-game winning streak and torrid stretch of play tomorrow when the Northwestern Wildcats visit Madison.

If Wisconsin has surprised people with its top-10 caliber team, then Northwestern has been an absolute shock. The Wildcats are 12-3 on the season, 3-1 in Big Ten play and ranked No. 55 in KenPom. In short, it seems the quality of the team does not quite reflet the stellar record.

The Badgers, on the other hand, are up to No. 11 in KenPom with the No. 6 offensive efficiency and No. 28 defensive efficiency. It’s time we start legitimately talking about them as a contender to win the Big Ten and make a real run in March.

Before that, they must take care of the Wildcats. Here is how to watch Wisconsin vs Northwestern:

  • Date: Saturday, January 13, 2024.
  • Time: Noon ET, 11 a.m. CT
  • TV Channel: Big Ten Network