It did not take a rocket scientist to know that Wisconsin and Ohio State were the top two teams in the Big Ten back in November, and with six games remaining in the regular season, the Badgers and Buckeyes are deadlocked in a tie atop the conference standings.
In fact, the two teams' records are nearly identical. UW holds an edge with its overall record of 23-2, while OSU currently sits at 21-3. But in the Big Ten, both teams are 9-1, including going 5-0 at home and 4-1 on the road. Unfortunately for the Badgers, Ohio State seems to have the inside track to the 2007 Big Ten title.
OSU's only conference loss came at the Kohl Center back on Jan. 9. It was only the second conference game of the season for UW, but it still looked like a must-win at the time and certainly looks like one now.
Ohio State's only remaining game against a team with a plus-.500 conference record is against Wisconsin at home Feb. 25. Barring an upset of OSU in any of the Buckeyes' other five games, a win over the Badgers in Columbus, Ohio would almost assure the team its second consecutive Big Ten title.
If UW wins that game, however, it would give the Badgers the edge in the conference, but with a tougher schedule, a loss in any of its other five games would result in a split-title with the Buckeyes. Beating Ohio State twice would give them the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, but there are no tiebreakers in deciding a conference champion.
Why is UW's schedule tougher? Its game at Ohio State is the second of a two-game road swing that includes going to Michigan State as well. The Buckeyes also have a two-game road trip left on their schedule, but they will be going to Penn State and Minnesota—not exactly the same thing. Ohio State's only tough road game remaining is at Michigan on March 3—it's last conference game.
On paper, Wisconsin's loss at Indiana did not look bad, but it might be the only difference between UW and Ohio State record-wise at the end of the season if the Badgers do not win in Columbus.
A win at Ohio State is not a lost cause by any means, though. OSU is 16-0 at home this year, but has only played one top-25 team in those 16 games, beating then No. 20 Tennessee in a very close 68-66 contest. The Volunteers are the only ranked team the Buckeyes beat this season as they lost to then-No. 6 North Carolina, then-No. 4 Florida and then-No. 4 Wisconsin in its other contests against top-25 teams—although all three of those games were on the road.
Still, while OSU might have an easier road to the conference title at this point, its 1-3 record against ranked teams indicates that Wisconsin might have a better chance to win in Columbus than some might think. The Badgers are 3-1 against ranked teams, including beating Marquette on the road. UW's edge in experience has helped it win those games and may be just the thing that helps it win the conference title.
Ask any of the UW players about the road to the Big Ten title and they will say they are only concerned with beating Iowa on Saturday.
While senior forward Alando Tucker has publicly said he expects to run the table, the team is still taking it game-to-game.
""We expect to be prepared for Iowa on Saturday and then be prepared for whoever is next in line,"" forward Joe Krabbenhoft said after Thursday's practice.
Still, the sophomore admitted that they are paying attention to the field.
""We're kids, we watch TV,"" Krabbenhoft said. ""We're watching Ohio State, we're watching Indiana, we're watching everybody. But we're not cheering for anybody but ourselves right now.""
After beating Penn State Wednesday night, head coach Bo Ryan gave his team a shorter day of practice Thursday. The team watched film and participated in an abbreviated shoot-around.
The team will have a full practice Friday in preparation for Iowa. Saturday's tip is at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN.
