After a solid 10-3 start to the season, and a brief few weeks in the Top-25, the Badgers will now begin their conference schedule starting with Iowa. Wisconsin has already dropped two conference games to Illinois and Michigan, so they'll be a little behind the eight ball to start. On paper, the schedule doesn't look too daunting, but the Badgers have shown they can be a very inconsistent team, which could make things harder than they need to be. Let's get into some predictions.
Iowa
Win
Record: 11-3
at Rutgers
Loss
Record: 11-4
Minnesota
Win
Record: 12-4
Ohio State
Win
Record: 13-4
at USC
Loss
Record: 13-5
at UCLA
Loss
Record: 13-6
Nebraska
Win
Record: 14-6
at Maryland
Loss
Record: 14-7
at Northwestern
Loss
Record: 14-8
Indiana
Win
Record: 15-8
at Iowa
Loss
Record: 15-9
at Purdue
Loss
Record: 15-10
Illinois
Loss
Record: 15-11
Oregon
Loss
Record: 15-12
Washington
Win
Record: 16-12
at Michigan State
Loss
Record: 16-13
at Minnesota
Win
Record: 17-13
Penn State
Win
Record: 18-13
In our prediction the Badgers finish 18-13 overall and 8-12 in conference play. The Purdue-Illinois-Oregon stretch will be their toughest test, and one that could doom the season. It's not exactly a dominating season, and it will most likely have them on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tournament. But another strong run in the conference tournament like last year could catapult them into the field.
While the Badgers got off to a quick start this year, they are just 2-3 since starting 8-0. Uneven play from John Tonje, and the lack of improvement from Steven Crowl and Max Klesmit have exposed some cracks in the Badger armor that could spell disaster for the team in conference play. Ultimately, if the Badgers fail to make the NCAA Tournament, it would be a disappointing end to the season, but not totally unexpected.