Wisconsin B1G Preview Part II

This was a lot more fun last time than it will be this time…

With the Badgers reeling, let’s take a look at the next six games for the men’s basketball team and see if we can get back on the winning track.

We’ll start with the game tomorrow in West Lafayette.

• Opponent: at Purdue
• Date:  Saturday, January 25
• Record as of today: 13-6 (3-3)
• Thoughts: This is a game the Badgers need, real bad. Obviously, it’s not a must-win, but with the way Wisconsin started the season, this should be a gimmie. Purdue is no pushover, though, and usually has a good crowd at home. It’s time to stop the bleeding.
• Prediction: Wisconsin struggles early, but pulls out a close one at the end. Good free-throw shooting salts away the game and the Badgers are back in the left-hand column. Wisconsin by eight.

• Opponent: Northwestern
• Date: Wednesday, January 29
• Record as of today: 10-10 (3-4)
• Thoughts: Another must-win against a team that is starting to come around. The Badgers absolutely annihilated the Wildcats last time out and should be able to win this one relatively easy as well.
• Prediction: Badgers by double digits and Wisconsin sneaks into the top four of the Big Ten again.

• Opponent: Ohio State
• Date: Saturday, February 1
• Record as of today: 16-4 (3-4)
• Thoughts: The only Big Ten team in a bigger tailspin than Wisconsin right now is Ohio State. What makes me more worried about the Buckeyes is that they didn’t have a huge win before the losses started to pile up. Their non-conference schedule ended up being very weak, so I think they were overrated to begin the season. That isn’t to say they still aren’t an upper-tier team that will make the tournament, they just aren’t top five in the country.
• Prediction: Wisconsin gets this one at home. If this were in Columbus, I’d be going with the Buckeyes and it still wouldn’t surprise me to see Ohio State win this. I just think (hope?) by this time the Badgers have fixed the defense, at least a little bit.

• Opponent: at Illinois
• Date: Tuesday, February 4
• Record as of today: 13-7 (2-5)
• Thoughts: As much as the Badgers have owned the Illini the last couple years (and earlier this year) I don’t see this being another blowout. Yes, Illinois is down and probably shouldn’t have been ranked during the last meeting, but the Illini will keep this one close.
• Prediction: Wisconsin by six and the winning streak moves to four.

• Opponent: Michigan State
• Date: Sunday, February 9
• Record as of today: 18-1 (7-0)
• Thoughts: I’m very worried about this game. Before the drought, I had liked the Badgers chances since the game is in Madison. Now, I don’t like those chances at all. Michigan State is a legit threat to win the national title, let alone the Big Ten and I don’t see the Spartans having much trouble pushing around Wisconsin.
• Prediction: Michigan State by ten.

• Opponent: Minnesota
• Date: Thursday, February 13
• Record as of today: 15-5 (4-3)
• Thoughts: This loss is still fresh in my mind. Yes, the game is in Madison, but I just don’t see the Badgers winning this one unless their post defense has improved. Minnesota was able to push around the Badgers and drive at will. I trust that Bo will fix as much as he can, but how much can he help?
• Prediction: The Gophers sweep the Badgers and win by five. This puts Wisconsin’s streak of finishing top four in the conference in some doubt as Michigan State, Michigan and Iowa all seem to be poised to finish up there as well.

I’ve got Wisconsin going 4-2 in the next six which would put the Badgers at 7-5 in the conference. It’s still good enough to steal a bye in the Big Ten tournament, but you can kiss the regular season championship good-bye. I’m afraid winning out (or maybe losing one game to a non-Michigan team) is what it’s going to take to get at least a share of the title. That’s pretty depressing to write after the way this season started.