John Fanta, a college basketball analyst, recently left the Wisconsin Badgers out of his latest top 25 rankings. Previously, he had them at No. 22, but after an uneven week—including a tough road loss against Maryland and a win over Northwestern—he decided it was time to drop them from the list.
In his updated ranking, Fanta featured five teams from the Big Ten: Purdue at No. 5, Michigan State at No. 12, Maryland at No. 21, Michigan at No. 23, and Illinois at No. 25. Some basketball fans are questioning the decision to remove Wisconsin. They argue that the Badgers are still a top-25 team based on various metrics. For instance, they rank No. 14 in KenPom, No. 23 in ESPN’s BPI, and No. 16 in the NET rankings.
A loss to Maryland, currently ranked highly, shouldn’t discredit Wisconsin’s overall skill, especially since they bounced back with a solid win against Northwestern right after. Despite this, Fanta’s view has shifted, and he no longer considers the Badgers among the top teams.
Wisconsin has another chance to showcase their talent when they play Indiana on Tuesday. Following that, they will go up against Iowa and face tough challenges ahead, including games against Purdue, Illinois, and Oregon. Out of their nine remaining games, five are against teams rated highly. This schedule offers them ample opportunity to earn their way back into the top 25.
A victory against Indiana would be a crucial step for the Badgers as they aim to regain recognition as a strong contender in college basketball.
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