Saturday, January 19, 2013
Big stretch for the Badgers?
By Luke Lapinski
Six Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the Top 25, but Wisconsin isn't one of them. That figures to change when the next poll comes out though, assuming the Badgers take care of business against Iowa today.
That's no guarantee, considering the game is in Iowa City. But a victory by Bo Ryan's squad would give them eight straight wins and run their record to 14-4, 5-0 in league play. At the moment, they sit atop the conference standings, but the road is about to get even tougher. Their reward for stunning Indiana in Bloomington earlier this week is a nine-game stretch that consists of two matchups with the Hawkeyes and seven tilts with ranked opponents. Wisconsin is once again getting it done on defense -- not exactly a shocker -- allowing just 54.9 points per game. If that holds true, a fifteenth consecutive NCAA Tournament berth may not be far off. Our own Joe Lunardi currently has the Badgers ranked No. 25 on his Top 100 and eight Big Ten clubs among the top 68 teams on his list.
