Where Wisconsin ranks in KenPom, ESPN BPI after big win over Ohio State

Where Wisconsin ranks in KenPom, ESPN BPI after big win over Ohio State

Wisconsin basketball picked up a resume-boosting home victory over Ohio State on Tuesday night.

While the 80-78 triumph was a bit too close for comfort due to the Badgers relinquishing a 17-point halftime lead, the result still counts as the team’s second Quad 1 victory of the season.

Related: Takeaways from Wisconsin basketball’s narrow win over Ohio State

Wisconsin is 2-3 in Quad 1 games (wins over Arizona and Ohio State; losses to Michigan, Illinois and Marquette), 5-0 against Quad 2 opponents and 7-0 against everybody else. The team continues to build a strong NCAA Tournament resume as it emerges as a possible contender to win the Big Ten.

Rating metrics retain their optimistic outlook for the Badgers after its win over a highly ranked Buckeyes team. Wisconsin remains in the Big Ten’s top tier in both KenPom and ESPN BPI:

  • KenPom: No. 21 overall (same ranking as it held after the Minnesota win) and No. 5 in the Big Ten, with the No. 12 offense and No. 50 defense in the country.
  • ESPN BPI: No. 28 overall (down one spot) and No. 6 in the Big Ten, with a projected record of 21.9 – 9.1 and a 7.3% chance to win the Big Ten.

Wisconsin’s defensive progression is the most evident development from the predictive metrics, KenPom specifically. The Badgers have risen to their current No. 50 slot in defensive efficiency after sitting in the mid-80s entering the calendar year. Greg Gard has highlighted that end of the court as a big difference between Wisconsin being good and it being championship-ready.

The Badgers are back on the court on Saturday to face a USC team (KenPom No. 63) that registered big wins over Illinois and Iowa. They continue with a road game at struggling UCLA (KenPom No. 37) on Tuesday. The two-game West Coast road trip will be Wisconsin’s first in the conference’s new era.

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