Wisconsin basketball’s disastrous month of February came to a crashing conclusion Tuesday night with a 74-70 loss at Indiana.
The fire alarm-induced extensive delay midway through the second half played a role in the loss. But it was a loss to one of the worst teams in the Big Ten and ESPN Basketball Power Index’s No. 104 team in the nation.
The result closed a 2-6 month for the Badgers, one which saw the team drop from first place in the Big Ten standings to fifth, No. 6 in the AP Poll to unranked and from a borderline 1-seed in NCAA Tournament bracketologies to a 5-seed.
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Wisconsin’s steep slide in the standings has coincided with a sharp drop in most national metrics.
First, the team is down to the No. 23 team in KenPom — with the No. 17 offense and No. 53 defense. The Badgers were comfortably within the top 10 earlier this season.
Second, the Badgers are down to No. 22 in ESPN BPI. They remain the fourth-best Big Ten team in the metric, but distance is growing between them and the top of the conference.
Finally, Greg Gard’s group sits No. 22 in the NCAA NET Rankings — with a 6-6 record in Quad 1, 6-4 in Quad 2, 2-0 in Quad 3 and 4-0 in Quad 4 contests.
Wisconsin has three games remaining before postseason play continues: vs No. 13 Illinois, vs Rutgers and at No. 2 Purdue.
It’s a good thing March has begun given the program’s slide throughout February, but that doesn’t things will get any easier for the Badgers. The level of play must quickly improve, as the stakes will only rise as the month continues.
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