Assessing Wisconsin basketball's NCAA Tournament resume after USC win

Wisconsin basketball added another solid win to its resume on Saturday with an 84-69 road triumph over USC.

USC holds the No. 75 slot in the NCAA NET Rankings, making it another Quad 1 victory for the Badgers.

For reference, here is a reminder of how the NET classifies each game:

Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75
Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135
Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240
Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353

Wisconsin is up to 15-3 on the season and 5-2 in Big Ten play with the win. It is also up to No. 21 in NET, beginning to threaten a top-four seed in early NCAA Tournament bracketology.

The Badgers’ resume includes a 3-3 record in Quad 1 games, 5-0 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 5-0 in Quad 4. Those marks are significant improvements from where the team stood on Dec. 13 after a three-game losing streak to Michigan (No. 11 in NET), Marquette (No. 19) and Illinois (No. 8).

Since then, Wisconsin is 1-0 in Quad 1 games (USC), 4-0 vs. Quad 2 (Butler, Iowa, Rutgers, Ohio State), 1-0 vs. Quad 3 (Minnesota) and 1-0 vs. Quad 4 (Detroit Mercy). That winning streak has occurred as the team’s early-season wins over Arizona (No. 14 in NET) and Pittsburgh (No. 33) continue to grow stronger.

In summary: Wisconsin is beginning to compile an impressive NCAA Tournament resume, and it’s only Jan. 19.

Joe Lunardi latest bracketology had the Badgers listed as a No. 6 seed, though that update came before their win over USC. It’s not a long shot to expect the team to eclipse the No. 4-seed line if it defeats UCLA, another Quad 1 opponent, on Tuesday.

This mid-January look at the Badgers’ growing resume will become irrelevant as they continue their conference schedule. As things stand today, the team has Quad 1 games remaining against UCLA, Maryland, Northwestern, Iowa, Purdue, Illinois, Oregon and Michigan State, and Quad 2 games against Nebraska, Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State. Its only remaining Quad 3 game is a Feb. 25 home matchup against Washington.

Again, those numbers are all subject to change as teams continue their seasons. Right now, it serves as a valuable look at what the Badgers have left to face. A significant takeaway: most of their tough games are still to be played.

That upcoming stretch will do one of two things. High-profile losses could drop the Badgers from their current strong standing, while an extended winning streak could bolster a resume that earns the team a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. The team’s current form points to the latter.

Next up is a Tuesday night road matchup at UCLA (NET No. 34). Tip is set for 9:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast exclusively on Peacock.

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