Busting Brackets
Fansided

Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Trying to make sense of 12 good teams

By Austin Walther

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA - JANUARY 23: Tom Izzo the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans gives instructions to Rocket Watts #2 against the Indiana Hoosiers at Assembly Hall on January 23, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
11 of 15
Next
COLUMBUS, OHIO – JANUARY 03: D’Mitrik Trice #0 of the Wisconsin Badgers (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OHIO – JANUARY 03: D’Mitrik Trice #0 of the Wisconsin Badgers (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

5. Wisconsin Badgers 12-9 (5-5)

What a season this has been. Wisconsin started 4-4 with a terrible showing at the Barclays Center and then couldn’t beat North Carolina State. They bounced back and destroyed an Indiana team that took apart Florida State. The Badgers fell at Rutgers which is actually a pretty good loss now. Wisconsin went on a four-game winning streak that included victories at Tennessee and at fifth-ranked Ohio State at the time.

It’s been win a few, lose a few like any other Big Ten team. The Badgers lost one home game to Illinois. Beat Penn State on the road and Maryland at home. The next three out of four were on the road and lost them all to Michigan State, Purdue and Iowa. The win against the Terrapins was a gutty performance. It was Wisconsin putting together a complete game. Maryland usually pops a three to win those type of games. But instead it was Brad Davison hitting the dagger.

Micah Potter had a couple great games against Penn State and Maryland. He hit four three-pointers against the Nittany Lions and dropped 14 vs. the Terps. Wisconsin though was not ready for a tough road game against Michigan State. Potter shot two-for-seven from the field. Nate Reuvers scored 19, but still shot under 50 percent. The entire team shot 35 percent.

Nebraska gave the Badgers a tough first half, but Wisconsin put them away, outscoring the Cornhuskers by 13 in the second half. Potter was great for two games, but teams are starting to figure him out. Kobe King is great, but his shots are starting to go a little cold. But Brad Davison and D’Mitrik Trice are starting to find their stroke.

Wisconsin couldn’t figure out a way to break up Purdue’s excellent defense. Davison, King and Wahl all struggled to shoot the ball. The Badgers were thin against Purdue as King is dealing with some personal issues. Wisconsin still managed to go toe-to-toe with Iowa on the road. But a total collapse in the offense put them out of the game and the better team won. Hopefully King is able to get over whatever is wrong because the Badgers can get some good wins, they just need a total team effort.

Home/Big Ten