MADISON, Wis. — The win over Purdue on Saturday wasn’t just any ordinary victory.

In the Big Ten standings, it pushed Wisconsin to fourth place and two games back from the top seed. But more than that, it made them feel like real conference heavyweights.

With the end of the regular season in sight (six more games for Wisconsin), fans have begun to wonder, is a Big Ten regular season title actually possible?

Given how realistic this outcome has become, I thought I’d explore the Badgers’ path, their biggest obstacles and everything that would need to happen.

Sitting at two games behind #1, the Badgers’ fate is out of their hands. They’ll need to win every remaining game.

Luckily for them, their remaining schedule doesn’t seem exceptionally difficult. Finishing undefeated is possible, especially after the Purdue win.

At a glance, there’s one really good opponent left (Michigan State), two good teams on the decline (Illinois and Oregon) and three .500 groups. Let’s go through them.

ILLINOIS

Wisconsin kicks things off on Tuesday against Illinois, a good team that’s had a strange past month. The Illini began 12-3 and looked like they could be competing for the top spot in the conference, but then things have fallen off the rails since then, with one strange obstacle after another.

First it was the consecutive injuries to their two top scorers, Kasparas Jakucionis and Tomislav Ivisic. Then coach Brad Underwood started toying with the starting lineup, which didn’t work. And now there’s a Tre White ordeal.

This is all to say, the Badgers will meet the Illini at a strange time, within a strange year. The roster is too new (10 new players to just three holdovers) and they’ve struggled to modernize. They lead the Big Ten in 3-point attempts per game (30.3), but are second-last in shooting percentage (31.1).

Difficulty meter: 6.5/10

OREGON

Next up for Wisconsin are the Ducks, another team that conference season hasn’t been the kindest to. They were the No. 9 in the country heading into the new year, at 15-2, but have since gone 3-6 and now sit on the bubble.

There’s no obvious reason for the decline; no major injury or off-court controversy. The Ducks simply aren’t playing with the same intensity they began the season with, which has illuminated their lack of elite talent.

They struggled for most of the season without an obvious top scorer. Jackson Shelstad has emerged, averaging 20.2 points over his last five games, which has given their offense some identity. After a five-game losing streak, they’ve rebounded with back-to-back wins, albeit over two bottom-four teams in Northwestern and Rutgers.

Perhaps the Ducks reignite their early season spark and Shelstad drops 30. However, they’re ultimately catching the Badgers at a rough time.

Difficulty meter: 6/10

MICHIGAN STATE

They close February out against Washington, before their biggest remaining matchup of the regular season on March 2, when they travel to East Lansing to face the Spartans. This is Wisconsin’s final game against a team currently above them in the Big Ten standings.

Like the previous teams, Michigan State is currently in somewhat of a free fall. Following a 13-game winning streak that lasted two months, the Spartans have now won only one of their past four.

Frankly, this Spartans team was always somewhat overrated, even during the streak. They’ve only played two Big Ten teams with a winning conference record — UCLA (10-5) and Illinois (9-7). Their remaining slate is proof of how backloaded their schedule is — No. 13 Purdue, No. 12 Michigan, No. 20 Maryland, No. 11 Wisconsin, Iowa and No. 12 Michigan again

The Spartans are the most important opponent left on Wisconsin’s schedule, while the Badgers are just one in a series of gargantuan tests for Tom Izzo’s group.

These teams won’t view this matchup with the same weight. For that reason, I feel confident in Wisconsin’s chances.

Difficulty meter: 7/10

Record-wise, those are the three opponents that stand out. Then there are three other groups who, frankly, don’t seem to pose as much of a threat.

The first mediocre team they play is Washington, on Feb. 25.

Great Osobor is one of the more underrated players in the Big Ten, but this isn’t a very good team. I especially don’t trust their defense against Wisconsin, as they’ve allowed some obscene point totals against Ohio State (93), Nebraska (86), Oregon (82), Michigan (91), Michigan State (88) and Illinois (81).

Difficulty meter: 4/10

Minnesota is a team that the Badgers already trounced, 80-59, back in early January. And they haven’t shown much improvement since then.

They haven’t posed much of a threat against top Big Ten teams, having suffered 20+ point losses to Illinois and Oregon over the past few weeks.

Nothing indicates that the Gophers are real upset contenders, but Dawson Garcia is too good of a scorer to overlook, and I guess the border rivalry might matter to certain guys.

Difficulty meter: 5/10

Wisconsin closes the regular season against Penn State, likely the worst team in the Big Ten. They began 12-2 but have only won one of their past 11. It’s now been a full month since their last victory.

No disrespect to the Nittany Lions, but I’d be shocked if this game even stays close.

Difficulty meter: 3/10

Now that it’s all laid out, finishing undefeated doesn’t seem very far-fetched at all.

In fact, none of these opponents seem to pose an exceptional threat. There’s no more Brayden Smith, no Michigan bigs, no random 7-foot-4 UCLA reserves.

At the same time, it’s still basketball. Any of these teams could make 15 3-pointers on any given night and kill Wisconsin’s hopes of a one-seed. But the Badgers are peaking at the absolute right time, while their remaining opponents simply aren’t.

I just can’t predict an undefeated finish. They’re going to lose to one of these teams, but not Michigan State. I’d say Oregon, in a weird game.

As previously mentioned, Wisconsin’s fate is technically out of its hands. They can go undefeated, but they’ll surely be looking at the conference standings in the meantime.

As it stands, there’s currently a six-way race for the top seed.

Michigan holds the lead with a 12-2 conference record, a game ahead of second place and two ahead of Wisconsin.

The Wolverines are hot but vulnerable, having won their past six in a row by an average of just 3.2 points. They play a few frisky teams in Nebraska, Rutgers and Illinois, then some handfuls in the form of Michigan State, twice, and Maryland.

They’re better than every team they play, but the slate is much more difficult than Wisconsin’s, and at least one loss is rather likely.

I predict they go 5-1 in their final six, losing to Michigan State once.

As alluded to, Michigan State’s remaining slate is the toughest of any top Big Ten team.

They could put up a great string of performances and still lose half of these games. Based on my relative lack of belief in the Spartans, I predict a skid. 3-3, with losses to Michigan, Wisconsin and either Maryland or Purdue.

Purdue’s slate, on the other hand, is rather manageable. They seem perfectly capable of beating each of their remaining opponents — Michigan State, Indiana, UCLA, Rutgers and Illinois. But this is also a team currently on a two-game losing streak.

I expect them to regain their footing heading into the postseason, but they need perfection, which is difficult to predict at this point. 4-1, with a loss to either UCLA or Michigan State.

Behind Wisconsin, Maryland and UCLA are both 2.5 games back from the top spot and could theoretically claw their way to top.

Maryland still gets to play a few punching bags in Penn State and Northwestern, but also have Michigan State and Michigan. Prediction: 3-2.

Of the top six Big Ten teams, UCLA might have the easiest remaining schedule after Wisconsin. Only one of their final five opponents, Purdue, sit in the top half of the conference. Prediction: 4-1.

Short answer — yes.

Their remaining schedule is rather easy, especially when compared to the other teams at the top of the Big Ten. While I don’t predict they’ll finish No. 1, it’s perfectly in reach.

But this game is still increasingly volatile and difficult to forecast. At least a few of my predictions will end up completely wrong and laughable.

Ultimately, the real value of this final stretch is that it allows teams to gear up for the actual most important part of the season, the NCAA Tournament. Fans may remember a few of these games, but they’ll replay the tournament games back in their heads for years, win or loss.

The Badgers are currently experiencing their best season in years, both in terms of record and sheer optimism. Winning the Big Ten regular season wouldn’t be as meaningful as making the Sweet 16, but would still serve as an indicator of this season’s abundant success.

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