Bracketology 2022: Duke, Wisconsin, and Arizona among Feast Week winners
By Joey Loose
Wisconsin
The Big Ten has really struggled in the opening weeks of this season. The conference simply underperformed in the Gavitt Games against the Big East, while teams like Illinois and Michigan, expected to finish atop the conference, have really fallen off in the early going. However, all hope is not lost for the conference despite that slow start, and the performance from Wisconsin this past week is proof of that.
Jonathan Davis played a starring role for the Badgers at the Maui Invitational, held this year in Nevada. First, Wisconsin took care of Texas A&M 69-58, with Davis leading the way with 21 points. On Tuesday, the Badgers got their best win of the young season, upsetting #12 Wisconsin in the semifinals, with Davis’s 30 points leading the way in the upset. Finally, Wisconsin took care of business 61-55 against Saint Mary’s to win the Maui Invitational, with the team putting up three very solid performances.
Wisconsin has worked their way up to 32nd in the KenPom rankings and this past week was very important for the Badgers. This isn’t just about rankings or stockpiling wins even, but this title gives the Badgers a ton of confidence moving forward. When the Selection Committee is reviewing Wisconsin in a few months, that win over Houston is going to be huge, especially if the Cougars play as well as we all expect this year. Weeks like this make Wisconsin a top 25 team and may just give the Big Ten a little bit of hope before the ACC/Big Ten Challenge next week.