Wisconsin basketball has essentially hit the halfway point of their season, which feels crazy that it's already here. At this point, where does Wisconsin's March Madness resume stand? What are their best wins and worst losses, and what's coming up on their schedule that can boost the Badgers' resume even more?
Before we dig in, none of this is set in stone as teams continue to play the NET and KenPom, and even the AP rank will move up and down. The quad level of the wins can also change throughout the year. For example, on Wisconsin's resume, the better Arizona does throughout the season, the more likely this looks like an even better win. Another example is USC, which is firmly on the cusp of being quad-1 or a quad-2 game. The Trojans are currently a NET 76 team, and any road game inside the NET 75 is a quad-1 game. USC could easily be a quad-1 or quad-2 game by the end of the season.
Wisconsin in the Rankings
Net: 24
KenPom: 23
Wisconsin's Losses
67-64 to Michigan
88-74 to Marquette
86-80 to Illinois
Michigan is a NET 11 and KenPom 10.
Marquette is a NET 12 and KenPom 11.
Illinois is a NET 9 and KenPom 13.
These are all securely Quad-1 losses, and unless those teams fall apart in the second half of the schedule, they will stay that way. This means that, at the halfway point, Wisconsin has had no bad losses.
Wisconsin's Wins
Quad-1 Wins:
Arizona
PItt
Quad-2 Wins:
UCF
Iowa
Rutgers
Quad-3 Wins:
App State
Butler
Minnesota
Quad-4 Wins:
Holy Cross
Montana State
UT Rio Grande Valley
Chicago State
Detroit Mercy
Like it was mentioned earlier, many of these levels of quad games could move depending on how the teams finish out. That goes for the next list which is the remaining games. Below is listed where they would currently be considered in the quads. They could change. USC is a great example; it's only one NET rating away from being a quad-1 game.
Quad-1 Games:
Ohio State
@UCLA
Maryland
@Northwestern
@Iowa
@Purdue
Illinois
Oregon
@Michigan State
Quad-2 Games:
@ USC
Nebraska
Indiana
Penn State
Quad-3 Games:
Washington
@Minnesota
Wisconsin has no quad-4 games remaining, but as you can tell, the back half of the schedule is loaded with quad-1 games, and that means there will be a ton of opportunities for Wisconsin. It also will get them tournament-ready. They need to be better in the second half of the season in quad-1 games than in the first half. The Badgers went 2-3 in quad-1 games. The second half is a chance for Wisconsin to get tournament-ready and do it with an exceptional resume.