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If you’re anything like me, you’re sick of the narrative that has surrounded the Badgers all season long, “Well, they’re good. But are they that good? If you take Johnny Davis off of the team, they’re awful! The advanced metrics hate the Badgers!” Well guess what, if you take any stud off of their team, that team becomes worse and advanced metrics don’t win championships.
UW continues to get it done on the court week after week and now sit atop the Big Ten at 17-3 overall, 8-2 Big Ten. Following a road win at Nebraska and a home Border Battle win on Sunday, the Badgers remain ranked as the No. 11 team in the country.
Keep building. #OnWisconsin pic.twitter.com/ycQNw2Y8Ve
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 31, 2022
Here’s how the rest of the Big Ten looked in the new AP rankings:
- No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers
- No. 11 Wisconsin Badgers
- No. 13 Michigan State Spartans
- No. 16 Ohio State Buckeyes
- No. 18 Illinois Fighting Illini
- Iowa and Indiana are receiving votes
Auburn remains as the No. 1 team in the country. Following a pair of blowout home wins including one over No. 7 Arizona (ranked No. 3 at the time), UCLA has re-entered the top five, sitting behind Auburn and Gonzaga at No. 3. The Bruins head to Tucson this week for another meeting with the Wildcats and are hoping that preseason All-American Johnny Juzang is able to clear COVID protocols for that game.
Purdue is back in the top five at No. 4 following a road win versus No. 18 Illinois and a home win versus No. 16 Ohio State. Sunday afternoon was near disaster for Purdue, who led by 12 with just over five minutes left, but found themselves tied with 0:20 to play. Jaden Ivey hit a game winning three-pointer with just three seconds remaining to seal the win for the Boilermakers.
As called by @OnAir_RBlackman on Purdue radio: pic.twitter.com/8Xd1diI2T6
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) January 30, 2022
This week’s biggest riser was Kentucky, raising moving up seven spots from No. 12 to No. 5 after an absolute massacre of Kansas inside Allen Fieldhouse. The Wildcats are finding their footing at the right time led by National Player of the Year candidate Oscar Tshiebwe.
Wisconsin has a huge resume boosting opportunity this week, heading on the road to take on No. 18 Illinois on Wednesday night. Tip-off is schedule for 8:00 PM CT.