January has run its course, and only the shortest month of the year remains until March is upon us.
The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball program has essentially locked itself into the NCAA tournament by jumping out to a 17-5 start that few pundits or fans saw coming.
At just past the halfway point in conference play, Wisconsin checks in at 7-4 in the Big Ten. That has the Badgers sitting at 6th in the newly expanded 18-team table. With the conference expected to send about eight teams to the dance come March, finishing in the top third of the Big Ten would do wonders for Wisconsin's resume. But how do the rest of the Badgers' results look?
Wisconsin went 10-1 vs. non-Big Ten opponents this season. And while things could certainly change for each of these teams in February, we have a pretty good idea of how each result will look on Wisconsin's resume on Selection Sunday with just over a month to go in the regular season.
Without further ado, here's a look at each of Wisconsin's out-of-conference results, contextualized with March Madness creeping ever closer:
NOV. 4: BEAT HOLY CROSS, 85-61 (HOME)
Record: 11-12 (3-7 Patriot League)
NET: 293
KenPom: 313
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 249th
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 340th
Best Win: At Quinnipiac, 70-69
Worst Loss: At Lafayette, 82-65
This was a Quad 4 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
Wisconsin took care of business in the opener against a middling Holy Cross squad. This is easily one of the worst teams the Badgers played, so leaving little doubt here was important. Holy Cross has a particularly putrid defense, although interestingly enough they're one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation. The Crusaders hit nine triples in the Kohl Center.
NOV. 7: BEAT MONTANA STATE, 79-67 (HOME)
Record: 10-13 (5-5 Big Sky)
NET: 192
KenPom: 193
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 192nd
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 199th
Best Win: At Nebraska Omaha, 76-65
Worst Loss: At Denver, 79-78
This was a Quad 4 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
Montana State does a few things well. The Bobcats limit their turnovers and limit opposing teams' three-point attacks. Currently sitting at 7th in the Big Sky, however, they're not expected to make it to March Madness barring a wild run in the Big Sky tournament. It's worth noting that Montana State nearly upset Northwestern in November, losing 72-69 to a respectable Big Ten opponent.
NOV. 10: BEAT APPALACHIAN STATE, 87-56 (HOME)
Record: 13-9 (7-4 Sun Belt)
NET: 149
KenPom: 137
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 231st
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 77th
Best Win: Vs. James Madison, 86-66
Worst Loss: At Louisiana, 68-62
This was a Quad 3 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
App State was the first team Wisconsin played that seemed poised to present a real challenge for the Badgers. A senior-laden team expected to make noise in the Sun Belt walked into the Kohl Center on Nov. 10, but crawled out. The Mountaineers were shut down offensively and throughly out-played in both halves. App State boasts a solid defense, but unless this team does damage in the Sun Belt tournament it's still not all that impressive of a victory.
NOV 15: BEAT ARIZONA, 103-88 (HOME)
Record: 15-6 (9-1 Big 12)
NET: 11
KenPom: 12
AP Top 25: No. 20
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 14th
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 24th
Best Win: Vs. Iowa State, 86-75 (OT)
Worst Loss: West Virginia (Neutral Site), 83-76 (OT)
This was a Quad 1 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
This is looking more and more like the Badgers' best win. Arizona struggled significantly at the start of the season, stating 4-5. However, the Wildcats have since won 10 of their last 11 and jumped out to an 8-1 record in a perilous Big 12 conference. They're top-15 in both the NET rankings and KemPom, and they recently beat currently No. 3-ranked Iowa State. The fact that Wisconsin not only won this game, but hung 103 points on this team, will be huge for its resume in March.
NOV. 18: BEAT UT RIO GRANDE VALLEY, 87-84 (HOME)
Record: 13-9 (5-6 Southland)
NET: 225
KenPom: 231
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 193rd
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 274th
Best Win: Vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 83-73
Worst Loss: At Houston Christian, 66-57
This was a Quad 4 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
This game was far too close for comfort. It took a career-high 30 points from John Blackwell to help Wisconsin overcome a first-half deficit of 52-48. The Badgers defense was brutal in this one; only Marquette, Illinois and Iowa have scored more than the 84 points UTRGV hung in Madison. This one wasn't pretty, but simply getting the win and avoiding a Quad 4 loss was huge here.
NOV. 22: BEAT UCF, 86-70 (NEUTRAL)
Record: 13-7 (4-5 Big 12)
NET: 64
KenPom: 58
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 49th
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 82nd
Best Win: Vs. Texas A&M, 64-61
Worst Loss: LSU (Neutral Site), 109-102 (3OT)
This was a Quad 2 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
UCF has faltered in conference play, and you can look at that one of two ways: They haven't beaten anyone particularly impressive in their own conference save from No. 22 Texas Tech, but the flip side is that the all the Knights' losses have come against really good teams, save for LSU. Ultimately, this is a strong win for the Badgers.
NOV. 24: BEAT PITT, 81-75 (NEUTRAL)
Record: 14-7 (5-5 ACC)
NET: 35
KenPom: 36
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 18th
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 76th
Best Win: At Ohio State, 91-90 (OT)
Worst Loss: At Florida State, 82-70
This was a Quad 1 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
The Greenbrier tip-off tournament was very fruitful for the Badgers, as they collected a Quad 2 win over UCF and followed that up with a Quad 1 victory over Pittsburgh in the title game. The Panthers have faltered since starting out 3-0 in ACC play, but are still an elite offensive team and on the right side of the bubble at the moment, albeit hovering around the "last four in." Most bracket scientists have them in the tournament if the season ended today.
NOV. 30: BEAT CHICAGO STATE, 74-53 (HOME)
Record: 3-20 (3-5 Northeast)
NET: 355
KenPom: 357
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 362nd
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 258th
Best Win: Vs. LIU, 73-67 (OT)
Worst Loss: Vs. Fairleigh Dickinson, 58-48
This was a Quad 4 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
Chicago State lost its first 15 games of the season. As the eighth-worst team on KenPom and the 10th-worst team in the Net rankings, anything but a blowout win would be a red flag on the Badgers' resume. While a 21-point victory is certainly resounding, Chicago State has suffered more soul-crushing losses (See: 105-58 versus Texas, 117-64 versus Illinois).
DEC. 7: LOST TO MARQUETTE, 88-74 (AWAY)
Record: 18-4 (9-2 Big East)
NET: 18
KenPom: 19
AP Top 25: No. 11
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 28th
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 16th
Best Win: Vs. Purdue, 76-58
Worst Loss: At Dayton, 71-63
This was a Quad 1 loss for Wisconsin.
The Word:
Wisconsin's lone out-of-conference loss came in the I-94 rivalry. There's no shame in loosing to a stacked Marquette team after taking the last two games in this historic showdown, especially when Golden Eagles' superstar guard Kam Jones drops 32 points. This loss was the second in the Badgers' three-game losing streak in mid-December, sandwiched between early conference losses to Michigan and Illinois. This one got away from Wisconsin in the second half, but again, Marquette is headed towards a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament, possibly even pushing for a No. 2.
DEC. 14: BEAT BUTLER, 84-73 (AWAY)
Record: 9-13 (2-9 Big East)
NET: 86
KenPom: 80
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 55th
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 129th
Best Win: Mississippi State (Neutral), 87-77
Worst Loss: Vs. Austin Peay, 68-66
This was a Quad 2 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
When the Badgers took on Butler on Dec. 14 in Gainbridge Fieldhouse, the Bulldogs were a much more intimidating team and the win was a Quad 1 victory. Despite multiple concerning upset losses at the hands of Austin Peay and North Dakota State, Butler looked like it could be a force in the Big East after beating SMU, Northwestern and Mississippi State. As it turns out, those concerning losses were a sign of things to come: the Bulldogs have lost 12 of their last 14 games.
DEC. 22: BEAT DETROIT MERCY, 76-53 (HOME)
Record: 8-16 (4-9 Horizon League)
NET: 308
KenPom: 326
AP Top 25: N/A
Adj. Offensive Efficiency Ranking: 352nd
Adj. Defensive Efficiency Rating: 227th
Best Win: Vs. Purdue Fort Wayne, 79-78
Worst Loss: Tulsa (Neutral), 63-44
This was a Quad 4 win for Wisconsin.
The Word:
Wisconsin rounded out its out-of-conference slate with a comfortable win over one of the worst teams in the nation. An 18-point outing from Nolan Winter helped the Badgers cruise in this one. Like Chicago State, the Titans are truly a nameless, gray face on Wisconsin's resume. Anything less than a blowout win would've been unacceptable.
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @_Perko_, @seamus_rohrer, @DonnieSlusher_
*Like us on Facebook