AP Rank prediction for Wisconsin after a loss to Maryland but a win over Northwestern

Feb 1, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; The Wisconsin Badgers celebrate a three point basket against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2025; Evanston, Illinois, USA; The Wisconsin Badgers celebrate a three point basket against the Northwestern Wildcats during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

The Wisconsin Badgers went 1-1 on the week once again. Last week, even after losing one game and winning one game, the Badgers moved up in the ranking. This was a bit surprising, but only slightly, as the rest of the field continues to create chaos in the rankings. Wisconsin is actually a very stable product. They have yet to have anything worse than a quad-1 loss, and they are among only 17 teams that have five or more quad-1 wins.

Wisconsin Badgers are an elite team even with a loss to Maryland this week

The Badgers continue to move up the other rankings even after the loss to Maryland. This is partly because the Maryland loss is actually not a big harm to the tournament resume. It was on the road and Maryland is ranked 15 in the NET.

Wisconsin's Rankings:

NET: 16 (up from 19)
KenPom: 13
KPI: 18
ESPN BPI: 23

Once again, the week provided a ton of chaos in the rankings, and Wisconsin may end up benefitting again. On Saturday alone, 8 of the top 14 lost. That's wild, and on the week, even more AP-ranked teams lost. It could be another opportunity to move up even with a 1-1 road trip. Here's a quick look at what happened to the teams around them:

No. 13 Texas A&M - Wins over Oklahoma and South Carolina
No. 14 Mississippi State - Losses to Alabama and Missouri
No. 15 St. John's - Wins over Georgetown and Providence
No. 16 Oregon - Loss to UCLA and TBD (playing Nebraska tonight)
No. 17 Wisconsin - Loss to Maryland, Win over Northwestern
No. 18 Illinois - Loss to Nebraska, Win over Ohio State
No. 19 Memphis - Wins over Tulane and Rice

There was chaos once again this week, and you can see that the group around Wisconsin experienced that chaos, too. There won't be a ton of room to move up except for Mississippi State sliding down. With Wisconsin going 1-1 and most of the teams behind them also going 1-1, you'd think that the Badgers will slide up one spot. Memphis is the wildcard, they could jump everyone to 15, St. John's goes to 14, and everyone else remains the same. Oregon is also a bit of a wildcard with a loss to UCLA and playing Nebraska tonight. Even with a win there, I bet the Ducks slide back.

Wisconsin will either remain the same or move up a spot. That's the prediction.

Wisconsin Prediction: No. 16

Schedule

Schedule