After a demoralizing defeat to Michigan State two weeks ago, the Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team has begun to steadily ascend the AP Top 25 poll.
The Badgers (15-4, 5-2 Big Ten) currently sit third in conference play behind Ohio State and Purdue and rank no. 17 after comfortably defeating Indiana and Northwestern last week.
Although the Badgers trailed the Hoosiers at the half, junior guard Jordan Taylor scored a career-high 28 points and the Badgers went on to win their 14th consecutive affair at the Kohl Center. Indiana (10-10, 1-6 Big Ten) came out firing on all cylinders, and went off to a sizzling start led by sharp shooting guard Jordan Hulls, who led the way for the Hoosiers with 16 points.
A relatively poor defensive display in the first half led to some defensive readjustments as the Badgers held the Hoosiers to 26 points in the second half on the way to a convincing 69-60 victory.
Along with Taylor, star senior forward Jon Leuer continued his superb season with 20 points as he continued to make his case for being the Big Ten’s best player.
On Sunday, the Badgers took on the Northwestern Wildcats (13-6, 3-5 Big Ten) in a matchup that was moved up due to the Bears and Packers highly anticipated meeting in the NFC Championship Game at Soldier Field.
Led by high scorer John Shurna, the Wildcats looked to pull of the upset at Welsh – Ryan Arena. Unfortunately for the Northwestern faithful, the contest proved to be a complete mismatch as the Badgers had the game all but wrapped up by halftime.
After the first 20 minutes, the Badgers had already stormed out to a 45-26 lead, and the brakes were put on the offensive beatdown in the second half.
However, true freshman Josh Gasser did something no player has ever accomplished in the 113-year history of the program. Gasser scored 10 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed 12 rebounds, recording the first triple-double in school history as the Badgers went on to a 78-46 victory in Evanston.
According to Joe Lunardi’s bracketology projections on ESPN.com, the Badgers would most likely hold a five seed if the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship were to start today.
With a dozen games remaining before the Big Ten tournament, the Badgers look to continue to move up the Big Ten and national rankings as they make their case for either a four or maybe even a three seed come March.
The next few weeks will be crucial as Wisconsin hosts the top two teams in the Big Ten–Purdue and Ohio State–at the Kohl Center, and looks to maintain its continued dominance in Madison.
Blowing a nine-point lead in East Lansing versus Michigan State could have been a huge downfall for the Badgers. However, instead of falling part, UW remained poised and went on to show its prowess as one of the best in the Big Ten by taking down a talented Illinois team.
Preseason rankings had the Badgers as one of the top few teams in the conference, but definitely not among the elite. However, as many college basketball experts have stated, you can never count out a Bo Ryan-led basketball team. If the Badgers can eke out a win or two versus Purdue and Ohio State, many doubters will probably start to consider Wisconsin to be a top-tier team nationally.
The Big Ten, along with the Big East, has been considered to be the top conference nationally. If the Badgers can compete on a nightly basis versus the best competition in the country, the team’s confidence will be sky-high come March. With their veteran presence, along with the grit the defense shows on a nightly basis, the men in Cardinal and White could make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
These next few weeks will be more than crucial in establishing the Badgers among the best in the country. However, as usual, expectations are continuously being defied in Madison.