Wisconsin didn't have to wait very long to start seeing results after hiring Robin Pingeton this offseason. The Badgers welcomed No. 20 Michigan State to town on Sunday for their first Big Ten game of the season and dominated the Spartans 78-64 to earn their first win against a ranked opponent since 2023.
Wisconsin now sits at 7-3 for the season, and already over halfway to their 13-win total from last year. While Pingeton's hire didn't seem like a splash hire at the time, it's quickly becoming obvious that Wisconsin made the right call.
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After going over a decade without finishing with a winning season, the Badgers are firmly on track to do so this year. The last time Wisconsin finished the season over .500 was in 2011, when the Badgers just cleared the bar at 16-15.
Pingeton, who spent the last 15 years as the coach at Missouri, was hired by Wisconsin this spring to inject some life into a program that hadn't seen much success. So far, the returns are good, and the Badgers sit at 1-0 in conference play after the upset victory. Her recruiting class for 2026 also features several highly-ranked in-state prospects like Adaline Sheplee, a top-50 player in the country.
While the season is far from over, it's evident that the Badgers are light years ahead of where they were last season, and much of the newly found success is thanks to the new head coach.