Rastall Ramblings: Resetting expectations for Wisconsin going into postseason play

By any measure, that was an outstanding regular season for the Wisconsin men’s basketball team. I think any Badgers fan would’ve gladly signed up for a 23-8 record and a tie for fourth in the Big Ten standings given what the preseason expectations were.

However, it’s undeniable that Wisconsin heads to Indianapolis for the conference tournament on a sour note after Saturday’s debacle of a loss against Penn State, marking the Badgers’ third defeat in their last five games.

The blown lead at home against Oregon a couple weeks ago was ugly and frustrating, but the Ducks are a high ceiling team, and Wisconsin turned the ball over uncharacteristically in that game, so it felt like a bit of an aberration. The loss in East Lansing to Michigan State was nothing to be ashamed of. After all, the Spartans won seven straight games to capture the outright Big Ten title and they, as they so often have in Tom Izzo’s three decades at the helm, appear to be peaking in March.

But there’s no way to dismiss Saturday’s hideous showing against Penn State.

All the Badgers needed to do last weekend was win a game at home where they were double-digit favorites and they’d clinch a double bye for the Big Ten Tournament and keep themselves firmly in the running for a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Instead, they squandered a hot start and took an ugly Quad 2 loss to a Nittany Lions team that had already been eliminated from Big Ten Tournament contention since only 15 of the bloated conference’s 18 teams qualify.

It was a senior day horror show at the Kohl Center that reminded me of 2022, when the Badgers had to settle for sharing the conference championship rather than winning it outright thanks to a loss to a middling Nebraska team.

Because of Saturday’s defeat, Wisconsin missed out on the double bye in Indianapolis and likely torpedoed their chance of a 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they could really use a good showing at the conference tournament to try and secure a spot on the 3 seed line and finish ahead of Iowa State in the selection committee’s overall seeding list, which could be the difference in whether the Badgers or Cyclones get to play in Milwaukee for the NCAA Tournament’s opening weekend.

Everything is still out there for Wisconsin this month. Max Klesmit is expected to return after a three-game absence and the Badgers boast the kind of depth that should make them formidable in the multiday gauntlet of the Big Ten Tournament. Plus, one would think/hope that John Tonje won’t play nearly as poorly as he did Saturday again.

They’ve made the path a bit more needlessly difficult for themselves, but the Badgers still have all the pieces they need to make this a special March.