The Wisconsin Badgers pulled off the upset over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Tuesday, marking their second win on the road over an AP Top 10 opponent this season.
It was a fantastic game from the start,
as Wisconsin got off to a hot start and then managed to overcome a 12-point deficit in the second half to push the game to overtime. There, they had another strong start and managed to upset a really good Illinois team that had been on an 11-game win streak before their loss to Michigan State last weekend.
The Badgers were in need of that marquee win to boost their resume, as they hadn’t gotten many eye-opening victories outside of their impressive road upset over the Michigan Wolverines in January. Tuesday marked Wisconsin’s second Quad 1 victory of the season, improving them to 2-6 in such games.
That marquee win saw the Badgers make a considerable jump in the NET rankings. Prior to Tuesday, Wisconsin was No. 43 in the NET Rankings due to its lack of Quad 1 wins. But they jumped up to No. 37 with the victory, moving ahead of Texas (No. 38), UCLA (No. 39), and Ohio State (No. 40), among others.
Wisconsin now faces Michigan State at home on Friday, presenting another Quad 1 opportunity. The Spartans are the No. 11 team in NET, and have a 7-3 record in Quad 1 games. But the challenges don’t just stop there. The Badgers travel to Ohio State next week for a rematch, and that will be another Quad 1 chance. They’ll host the Iowa Hawkeyes after that, which will be a Quad 1 chance as well since the Hawkeyes are a top-30 team in NET.
So there’s a ton of room for improvement as the Badgers look to fully establish themselves in the NCAA Tournament field and improve their seeding. While the NET doesn’t matter for Wisconsin’s NCAA case, getting those notable wins will go a long way to improving its resume and its seeding come Selection Sunday.
