Wisconsin basketball faces a February Big Ten gauntlet

MADISON, Wis. - The month of January turned Wisconsin from an inconsistent team with questionable NCAA Tournament prospects to one playing its best basketball.

The month of February will reveal whether they can stay there.

After going 7-2 in January, including one of the nation's best victories in winning at then-No. 2 Michigan, Wisconsin will embark on a February gauntlet that will see them play five of seven on the road and face five consecutive Quad-1 opponents.

It represents a massive opportunity for the Badgers (16-6, 8-3 Big Ten), which enter their mini bye week sitting in a tie for fifth place in the league but still sagging in the computer and analytic numbers.

UW ranks 35th in Bart Torvik, 38th in KenPom, and 41st in the NET rankings. While UW is 6-2 in Quad-2 games, the win on the road against the Wolverines represents UW's only Quad-1 win in five chances.

The NCAA defines a Quad-1 game as a home matchup with a team ranked 1-30 in the NET, a neutral-site matchup with a team ranked 1-50, and a road matchup with a team ranked 1-75. The next five games all meet that category for the Badgers.

Here's a look at the Quad-1 opponents that await Wisconsin.

#Badgers Takeaways: Nick Boyd and John Blackwell delivered the offense in Wisconsin's 92-82 victory over Ohio State, but the usual suspects got a huge boost from Austin Rapp spreading out the defense w/ his shot and Jack Janicki stepping up as a starter https://t.co/JMdK6PR6Au
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) February 1, 2026

Feb. 7: at Indiana (NET 30)

The only meeting between the two schools in the regular season may be decided from behind the three-point line. Indiana has averaged 10.6 made 3-pointers per game, which is fourth in the Big Ten and 23rd nationally, and 11.0 triples per league game. The Hoosiers have buried 10 or more triples in 15 games.

Indiana has hit double-digit makes from beyond the arc in four-straight games for the first time in league play since the 2002-03 season.

Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson has 10 20-point games this season; junior guard Nick Dorn has scored 20 in two of the last three games, and senior forward Reed Bailey had 24 points (12-for-13 FT), six rebounds, and five assists in Saturday's double-overtime win at UCLA.

Feb. 10: at Illinois (NET 6)

Consecutive road wins at No.4 Purdue and No.5 Nebraska show that the Illini are playing as well as anyone, having won 11 straight. Keaton Wagler is making a great case for Big Ten Freshman and Player of the Year, having scored 46 points against the Boilermakers and contributing 23 of his 28 points in the second half to upset the Huskers.

What's more impressive is that the Illini are winning with starting guard Kylan Boswell (14.2 ppg) out with a broken right hand.

The Illini are averaging 130.9 points per 100 possessions, an adjusted offensive efficiency that is the best in the KenPom era (since 2002).

Feb. 13: Michigan State (NET 11)

The Badgers' reward for their toughest road trip of the season is one of the more physical teams in the nation. The Spartans don't outshoot teams as much as they out-physical them. Michigan State's defense is ranked second nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (behind Michigan), its scoring defense ranks 10th (64.4), and it is second nationally in rebounding margin (+13).

Like the Badgers, the Spartans want to get out and score in transition. They rank 13th nationally in fast-break points at 17.2 per game.

Jeremy Fears Jr. is a strong candidate for first-team all-conference, having scored in double figures 16 times and assisting on at least nine baskets 12 times this season.

Feb. 17: at Ohio State (NET 40)

Eighteen days will have separated the matchups between these two teams. Despite having one more loss and two fewer overall wins, as well as three fewer Quad 1/2 wins, the Buckeyes still rank ahead of Wisconsin in the NET ranking. Ohio State's only Quad-1 win is at Northwestern, so the Buckeyes are still searching for a quality win for their resume. This game is part of an important stretch for Ohio State, too, as the Buckeyes will face Virginia on the 14th, host UW on the 17th, then travel to Michigan State on the 22nd and Iowa on the 25th, and start March hosting Purdue.

Feb. 22: Iowa (NET 20)

Wisconsin has beaten Iowa by an average of 15.8 points over its last four games in Madison, but the Hawkeyes are a different team with Ben McCollum leading the program. The Hawkeyes still score (78.0 ppg), but this group actually defends (18th in adjusted defensive efficiency). Guard Bennett Stirtz has been terrific since following McCollum from Drake, averaging 19.0 ppg on 49.4 percent shooting.

Feb. 28: at Washington (NET 47)

Wisconsin plays at Oregon (NET 116) in the first leg of its Pacific Northwest tour before closing with the Huskies, who have struggled getting their full lineup on the floor. Forward Jacob Ognacevic - a Sheboygan, Wis., native who was the 2025 Atlantic Sun Player of the Year - missed the first 16 games and, as soon as Ognacevic returned, guard Desmond Claude (13.3 ppg) stepped away due to complications from offseason surgery.

The Huskies still have some talent. Freshman 6-11 forward Hannes Steinbach is averaging a 17.6-point, 11.4-rebound double-double, and shares the floor with Zoom Diallo (15.2 ppg) and Wesley Yates III (13.3 ppg). That trio just combined for 65 points in a win at Northwestern.

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