Where Wisconsin basketball is in Big Ten standings, latest bracketology
· Yahoo Sports
The next month will be an illuminating one for the Wisconsin Badgers' postseason fate.
Six of the Badgers' seven games in February would currently count as a Quad 1 win or loss on their NCAA tournament résumé. A good month could turn UW into essentially a lock for the tournament. A lackluster month could jeopardize a March Madness berth.
Here is how the Badgers stack up in the Big Ten standings and prominent March Madness projections ahead of their crucial stretch of the schedule:
Where is Wisconsin basketball in Big Ten standings?
Wisconsin were tied for fifth in the Big Ten standings with Purdue, as of the morning of Feb. 4. The Boilermakers would hold the tiebreaker after the Badgers' Jan. 3 loss to Matt Painter's group, but UW will get another shot at Purdue in its regular-season finale March 7.
Five of Wisconsin's seven games in February are against teams that are .500 or better in the conference standings.
Here are the full Big Ten standings:
- Illinois (10-1)
- Michigan (10-1)
- Nebraska (9-2)
- Michigan State (9-2)
- Purdue (8-3)
- Wisconsin (8-3)
- UCLA (8-4)
- Iowa (6-4)
- Ohio State (6-5)
- USC (6-6)
- Indiana (6-6)
- Washington (4-7)
- Minnesota (3-8)
- Northwestern (2-9)
- Rutgers (2-10)
- Maryland (1-9)
- Penn State (1-10)
- Oregon (1-10)
Where is Wisconsin in the latest NCAA NET rankings?
Wisconsin is No. 42 in the NCAA's NET rankings. That is the same as where the Badgers stood one week earlier. Three of the teams that UW has defeated are ranked higher than the Badgers – Michigan at No. 2, UCLA at No. 40 and Ohio State at No. 41.
Wisconsin's quadrant-by-quadrant record is below.
- Quad 1: 1-4
- Quad 2: 6-2
- Quad 3: 2-0
- Quad 4: 7-0
Quad 1 wins and Quad 3/Quad 4 losses can heavily impact a team's postseason outlook in either direction. Wisconsin's Nov. 28 neutral-site loss to TCU recently dropped from Quad 1 to Quad 2, as the Horned Frogs are outside of the top 50 of NET. UW will have plenty of opportunities to improve its standing with the aforementioned Quad 1 games on its February slate.
Wisconsin Badgers basketball March Madness predictions: Where Badgers are projected to go in NCAA tournament bracket
ESPN's Joe Lunardi had Wisconsin as a No. 9 seed in his Feb. 3 bracketology projection. The Badgers would hypothetically face eighth-seeded North Carolina State in the first round in Philadelphia, followed presumably by top-seeded Connecticut in the second round.
USA TODAY's Feb. 3 bracketology projection slotted the Badgers as a No. 9 seed. UW would face eighth-seeded Central Florida in the first round in Buffalo and presumably top-seeded UConn in the second round.
CBS Sports' Feb. 4 bracketology update projected Wisconsin to be a No. 9 seed as well. The Badgers would face eighth-seeded Clemson in the first round and top-seeded Michigan in the second round. The CBS bracketology does not list sites for the first two rounds.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Where Wisconsin basketball is in Big Ten standings, NCAA bracketology