The Big Ten continues to be one of the wildest rides in college basketball. This week was no exception when multiple upsets happened, including a big one with USC toppling Michigan State. This was the Spartans' first Big Ten loss of the season. Wisconsin had a road trip with two big quad-1 games on the road. The first, they lost to Maryland, but they won the second over Northwestern. After a 1-1 and one week, where do the Badgers fall in the Big Ten standings?
First, let's get to the Big Ten results of the week.
Big Ten Results from the Week
Monday, January 27
Michigan over Penn State 76-72
Ohio State over Iowa 82-65
UCLA over USC 82-76
Tuesday, January 28
Michigan State over Minnesota 73-51
Wednesday, January 29
Maryland over Wisconsin 76-68
Rutgers over Northwestern 79-72
Thursday, January 30
UCLA over Oregon 78-52
Nebraska over Illinois 80-74
Ohio State over Penn State 83-64
Friday, January 31
Purdue over Indiana 81-76
Saturday, February 1
Wisconsin over Northwestern 75-69
Washington over Minnesota 71-68
USC over Michigan State 70-64
Michigan over Rutgers 66-63
Sunday, February 2
Illinois over Ohio State 87-79
Nebraska
Team | Big Ten Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
Michigan State Spartans | 9-1 | 18-3 |
Purdue Boilermakers | 9-2 | 17-5 |
Michigan Wolverines | 8-2 | 16-5 |
Maryland Terrapins | 7-4 | 17-5 |
UCLA Bruins | 7-4 | 16-6 |
Wisconsin Badgers | 7-4 | 17-5 |
Illinois Fighting Illini | 7-5 | 15-7 |
USC Trojans | 5-5 | 13-8 |
Oregon Ducks | 5-6 | 16-6 |
Indiana Hoosiers | 5-6 | 14-8 |
Ohio State Buckeyes | 5-6 | 13-9 |
Iowa Hawkeyes | 4-6 | 13-8 |
Rutgers Scarlet Knights | 4-7 | 11-11 |
Nebraska Cornhuskers | 4-7 | 14-8 |
Penn State Nittany Lions | 3-8 | 13-9 |
Northwestern Wildcats | 3-8 | 12-10 |
Minnesota Golden Gophers | 3-8 | 11-11 |
Washington Huskies | 2-8 | 11-10 |
Last week, the Badgers were alone in fourth place. That changed drastically this week as they now share fourth place with two other teams: the Maryland Terrapins and the UCLA Bruins. However, with Michigan State finally dropping a Big Ten game, Wisconsin stays only 2.5 games back from first in the conference.
Wisconsin has two very winnable games this next week against two flailing Big Ten teams: the Indiana Hoosiers and the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Hoosiers will be coming to Madison to take on the Badgers in Kohl Center, while Wisconsin will need to travel to Iowa. However, both are games that Wisconsin needs to win and should win. ESPN BPI predictor has the Badgers favored with an 82.3% chance to win against the Hoosiers and a 61% over the Hawkeyes.