Can Badgers, Big Ten’s hottest team, make noise come March?

Michigan was followed by Maryland, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois and Michigan State. MI held Wisconsin to only 46 percent shooting from the field and an even more surprising 30 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Tournament hopes for the Buckeyes are dwindling, and to make it they need to win out, which would include two games against Michigan State and one against Iowa. The Buckeyes are fourth with 12, Michigan State has nine and Wisconsin has six. IL has to be carrying some exhausted legs on its roster at the moment, as three of its last five games have gone to overtime. Penn State has played the most hard Big Ten schedule to date and a win over IN could provide the spark of momentum it needs to finish the season strong. Caris LeVert could be back from his injury any day now. Those weren’t the first games they had trouble though. But if Wisconsin does get an invite to the Big Dance, expect Gard’s team to play like a Ryan team. Nebraska has one of the best wins of the conference season (at Michigan State), but its other four league wins are over Rutgers (2x), Minnesota and IL. The Wolverines made the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2008. The Spartans can assert their dominance if they beat Purdue and IN this week IN what will be a crucial week for the conference as a whole.

Not only did the Penn State Nittany Lions knock off the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday at home, they moved back to. However, after October 1st there aren’t two home games in a row the rest of the way. It won’t get any easier after, as IU gets to face Tom Izzo and Michigan State on Sunday in East Lansing. You can never count out a Tom Izzo coached team in big games late in the season. Not many people would have guessed that the Golden Gophers would be 0-11 in conference play through the first month and a half, but Richard Pitino’s squad is about as far from a postseason berth as any team in the country.

Consecutive victory No. 6 came Wednesday night, when Wisconsin defeated visiting Nebraska, 72-61, in Madison.