Badgers Crush March Madness With Top-KenPom Team Rating

Mar 14, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Aleksas Bieliauskas (32) shoots against Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Wisconsin Badgers are looking strong heading into March Madness, racking off wins over the Purdue Boilermakers, Washington Huskies (2x), and the Illinois Fighting Illini in the past two weeks before playing the Michigan Wolverines close in a three-point loss on Saturday. After some ups and downs to start the year, the Badgers have really found their identity over the past two months, and are trending up at the best time of the season.

Their strong week at the Big Ten Tournament this week likely has earned them a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which we will find out for sure when the Selection Sunday Show airs later on Sunday. Wisconsin is now up to eight Quad 1 wins on the season, good for 11th in the country, ranking 25th in NET.

They also set 20th in EvanMiya’s relative team rating, 21st in BartTorvik, 19th in Wins Above Bubble (WAB), and 22nd in KenPom. Many of these are key evaluation metrics when seeding and ranking teams. Looking at the KenPom rating, Wisconsin’s adjusted offensive efficiency is all the way up to No.

11, while their defense improved from No. 62 to No. 51 this week, bumping them up a couple of spots.