Wisconsin Basketball: Bracketology resume breakdown for the Badgers

Breaking down the Badgers’ record

Win-loss record is one of the most basic and preliminary tools used to determine which teams should make the NCAA Tournament. And this is due to the fact that records are almost entirely reliant on the strength of schedule that a team plays. For example, the difference between playing in the Big Ten and the MEAC is astronomical and therefore the former would consistently send more teams to the NCAA Tournament even if win-loss records were similar.

This is why it is important to dive a little deeper into Wisconsin’s fairly unimpressive record when analyzing their NCAA Tournament hopes/seeding While playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, the Badgers have managed to put together an 11-6 record. Here is what that record currently looks like when divided into the quadrant system used by the committee.

• Quadrant 1: 3-4
• Quadrant 2: 2-2
• Quadrant 3: 2-0
• Quadrant 4: 4-0

In short, this shows that the Badgers have not suffered any disastrous losses. In fact, the team has only suffered one loss to a team ranked outside of the KenPom top-100 (Western Kentucky) and that was on the road. It is also important to mention that the Badgers only have two opportunities left for “bad losses” and both of them come against Illinois. That is just one reason why playing in such a dominant conference like the Big Ten is valuable.

Additionally, though, the Badgers can hang their hat on an elite non-conference record carrying their resume at this point in time. Most notably, wins over NC State and Oklahoma, which did not seem that important at the time, now hold a ton of weight as they are both ranked in the top-30 nationally. Add in the fact that Iowa, who Wisconsin beat on the road, continues to play at a fairly high level and this resume not only avoids bad losses but also boasts a few high-quality victories.