The Wisconsin Badgers are ranked No. 24 in the preseason Top 25 AP Poll and are staring down the barrel of a very intriguing season. After losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, many fans and players from that team are anxious for a longer season this year. Maybe even a Big Ten championship or Big Ten tournament championship after falling to Michigan in the title game last season.
The Badgers have a really strong schedule, and if they can have some big wins and find losses that are considered quality, they have a chance to put together quite the resume come NCAA Tournament time. Let's take a deeper dive into the resume.
Wisconsin's potential resume by quad opponents
Related: Matt Norlander totally disrespects Wisconsin basketball with stunning ranking
First, a note: if you are fairly new to the quad system or if you need a refresher. There are four quads (hence the name), with Quad-1 being the best and Quad-4 the worst. Each team has a NET ranking, and that NET ranking determines the quad you find yourself in. At least that's one determining factor; the other is if the game is away, neutral, or home. One opponent could be quad-1 on the road but quad-2 at home, depending on their net ranking.
There's more to it than that, but that's a simple way to understand it. Here's what Wisconsin is looking at ahead of time. These can change depending on how well (or poorly) teams play throughout the season. So watch for that. These are just the preseason NET quads.
Quad Games | Opponents |
|---|---|
Quad 1 Games | @BYU, Marquette, @Nebraska, Purdue, UCLA, @Michigan, @Penn State, @Indiana, @Illinois, Michigan St, @Ohio State, @Oregon, Maryland, @Purdue |
Quad 2 Games | Providence, Northwestern, Villanova, @Minnesota, Rutgers, USC, Ohio State, Iowa, @Washington |
Quad 3 Games | Milwaukee, Minnesota |
Quad 4 Games | Campbell, N. Illinois, Ball St, SIU-Ed, C. Michigan |
There are a lot of chances there for really good resume wins. The NET SOS is the 24th best in the nation, but has the potential to only increase with teams on their schedule winning throughout the season.
Wisconsin basketball by the rankings
NET: 14
KenPom: 20
AP Poll: 24
Coaches: 24
BPI: 19
This is a closer look at Wisconsin's schedule and potential resume. The first game is on November 3 at 7pm CT in the Kohl Center and streaming on Big Ten+.