The Wisconsin women's basketball program has lost two games in a row to Minnesota and Ohio State. Robin Pingeton is focused on making sure that trend doesn't continue into Indiana tomorrow. Yet, despite those losses, the Badgers still have a chance to make March Madness. According to Autumn Johnson's latest bracket, Wisconsin is among the "First Four Out."
Sure, the "OUT" part is not ideal if Pingeton and her squad want to make the tournament, but this means Wisconsin is still a bubble team and with the right wins down the stretch, could find that "OUT" switching to an "IN."
🔮 BRACKET PREDICTION 🔮
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) February 3, 2026
Autumn Johnson drops her bracket prediction of the 2025–26 season.
First Four OUT:
1️⃣ Arizona State
2️⃣ Virginia
3️⃣ Wisconsin
4️⃣ South Dakota State#NCAAWBB #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/n7QDqIbesl
Robin Pingeton has done something remarkable in year one for Wisconsin
Related: Wisconsin’s latest commitment reinforces a trend fans have been waiting for
In one year, Pingeton was able to do something that hasn't been done in years, sniff the NCAA Tournament. Even if the Badgers don't ultimately end up making it, the fact that in one year she took a bottom Big Ten women's basketball team and put them on the cusp is a huge accomplishment.
As a bubble team that doesn't make it, Wisconsin will still get a chance to dance in the WNIT. That may be a more realistic tournament for the Badgers this season, and one fans shouldn't turn their nose up at. That being said, even if Wisconsin makes the tournament and exits after one game, that will go down as an incredible success for this program considering where it was and how quickly Pingeton found success.
There's still a path, but it will take an upset for Wisconsin to make it. The Lady Badgers aren't favored in any of the remaining seven games where they take on three ranked teams (as of now). Wisconsin only has two teams on the schedule left that are in the bottom half of the Big Ten: Indiana and USC.
It will take a lot for the Badgers to make the tournament, but they've been known to pull off wins that no one saw coming already this season, like a win over Michigan State and Nebraska. Regardless of how the final stretch happens, this season has been a remarkable turnaround.