Wisconsin basketball gains in KenPom following dominant home win over Washington

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Wisconsin basketball (22-6, 12-5 Big Ten) rolled to an 88-62 victory over Washington (13-15, 4-13 Big Ten) on Tuesday night.

The victory reestablished the Badgers’ position towards the top of the Big Ten standings after the team fell in overtime to the Oregon Ducks on Feb. 22. Just 1 1/2 games now separate Wisconsin from Michigan State (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) and Michigan (21-6, 13-3 Big Ten), the two teams tied atop the conference.

While the win over the Huskies won’t do much for the Badgers in national hierarchies, it provided another impressive display of Wisconsin’s offensive and defensive capabilities. Tuesday marked Wisconsin’s 16th game this season with at least 80 points on offense, plus was the team’s first game since Jan. 26 allowing 62 points or fewer.

KenPom’s rating metric took both of those factors into account after the win. Greg Gard’s group entered the game with the No. 9 position in the hierarchy with the No. 9-ranked offense and No. 37 defense. The team rose back to No. 7 after the triumph, with the nation’s No. 7-ranked offense and No. 40 defense. The Badgers now sit behind only Duke, Auburn, Houston, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama atop the metric.

Wisconsin has remained KenPom’s top-ranked Big Ten team for quite some time. Five other Big Ten teams land in the metric’s top 25: Michigan State (No. 11), Maryland (No. 15), Purdue (No. 17), Illinois (No. 22) and Michigan (No. 23).

The NCAA’s NET ranking also pushed Wisconsin two spots up to No. 11 with its big win. While it wasn’t Quad 1 or Quad 2 triumph, the Badgers did exactly what they needed to do against a bottom-ranked opponent.

Through 28 games, Wisconsin averages 81.9 points per game off 47% shooting from the field, 36.2% from beyond the arc and an NCAA-best 83.3% from the foul line. The team held the Huskies to just 28 first-half points and 44.8% shooting from the field for the game’s entirety.

The Badgers’ 33 bench points, 12 from Xavier Amos, are also encouraging. While those performances aren’t a…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/wisconsin-basketball-gains-kenpom-following-205317587.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-02-26 20:53:00

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