In mere moments we’ll know if the Badgers will be dancing in their 11th consecutive NCAA Tournament or if they will be among the also-rans in the NIT.
The consensus seems to be that Wisconsin will be in the Big Dance, and if they are, they should thank the other teams in the Big Ten for raising the conference’s profile.
Every chance the Badgers had to get a marquee victory they faltered. In non-conference games they lost to UConn, Texas and Marquette. In conference games, they faded down the stretch at Michigan State and crumbled late versus Purdue at home.
Home wins against Illinois and Ohio State are nice, but they’re certainly not amazing. The victory over Virginia Tech looked much more impressive in December than it does now.
The Badgers had an above average season. They showed a lot of character in rebounding from a six-game losing steak, and they did sweep Michigan and Penn State.
But the bottom line is if Wisconsin makes it in, it’s because of the overall quality of the conference, not necessarily the quality of its wins.