Wisconsin Basketball: Now is the time to make a run

The Wisconsin basketball team is in the beginning stages of gaining some momentum. Now is the time to pick up steam.

Fresh off a defeat over an undefeated Michigan Wolverines team, the Fresh off a defeat over an undefeated Michigan Wolverines team, the Wisconsin basketball team found themselves locked in a tight battle at halftime against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Illini were 5-13 and exactly the type of team who could neutralize the huge win the Badgers had over Michigan. Fortunately, Wisconsin prevailed and pulled away in the second half to take home the victory. team found themselves locked in a tight battle at halftime against the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Illini were 5-13 and exactly the type of team who could neutralize the huge win the Badgers had over Michigan. Fortunately, Wisconsin prevailed and pulled away in the second half to take home the victory.

Now the Badgers have a huge opportunity ahead of them. They host the Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday before traveling to Nebraska to take on the Cornhuskers on Tuesday. These two games represent a huge opportunity to gain momentum ahead of a difficult stretch of games. If the Badgers can take care of business during these next two contests, they’ll ride a four-game winning streak into one of the most important stretches of games this season.

Wisconsin kicks off February by hosting the 13th ranked Maryland Terrapins. Maryland barely escaped with a victory in their first meeting, but will now have to travel to the Kohl Center. This will be another huge opportunity for Wisconsin to add a notch in their belt.

The Badgers will be able to avenge another loss just five days later when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers. This rivalry game is a huge one and you can expect Minnesota’s fans to be riled up. Following that contest, the schedule turns very difficult as Wisconsin play Michigan (fifth-ranked) and Michigan State (sixth-ranked) in back to back games.

These first two weeks of February could decide the season for the Badgers, as they’ll have plenty of opportunities to show their early season play is more indicative of who they truly are as a team.

Projecting that the Badgers take care of business to finish up January, they’ll enter the game against Maryland at 15-6 overall and 7-3 in conference play. If they can defend their home court during that four-game stretch and take the game at Minnesota, the Badgers will solidly stand with an 18-7 overall record and 9-4 in conference.

Wisconsin then has a favorable schedule down the stretch and could realistically win five of their last six games. Stick with me here, but that would give them a 23-8 overall record and 14-5 record in conference play. Both of those would be good enough to position the Badgers to be a top-eight seed in the NCAA tournament depending on what happens in Big Ten postseason play. This may be getting too far ahead of ourselves, but it’s fun to speculate about March Madness once again.