Most major college basketball rankings agree that the Wisconsin Badgers are one of the top teams in the nation.
That is, most rankings agree.
With a 21-5 record and 11-4 in the Big Ten, Wisconsin has been on a hot streak, winning five consecutive games. These victories came against Northwestern, Iowa, Indiana, Purdue, and Illinois, with three of those wins on the road, marking them as Quad 1 wins. The most recent wins, a 94-84 triumph at Purdue and a 95-74 victory over Illinois, were particularly impressive and solidified their status as a top team.
Following this strong stretch, Wisconsin now ranks No. 7 on KenPom, No. 10 in the NET, and is near the top 10 in both the AP Top 25 and the USA TODAY Coaches Poll. By these metrics, the Badgers are the best team in the Big Ten.
However, ESPN’s BPI doesn’t agree. It currently has Wisconsin ranked No. 15 in the nation and No. 4 in the Big Ten, inexplicably placing them behind Purdue (No. 12), Michigan State (No. 13), and Maryland (No. 14). Other teams ahead of Wisconsin include a struggling Kansas squad (No. 11) that has lost five of its last eight games, as well as an 18-8 Arizona team (No. 6) that Wisconsin easily defeated back in mid-November.
Fortunately, Wisconsin fares better in more significant metrics like KenPom and the NET, and they are in a strong position for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament if they continue their current winning pace. In the long run, ESPN’s BPI ranking probably won’t have much impact.
Ultimately, these rankings will matter little once the games are played. Wisconsin still has a solid shot at winning the Big Ten regular-season title or making a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. But it’s always noteworthy when nearly every major ranking and analyst places a team among the top contenders—except for one. At that point, the discrepancy is likely with the outlier metric.
The Badgers return to action on Saturday against Oregon (KenPom No. 35). They are just 1 1/2 games behind Michigan for first place in the Big Ten standings.
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