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College Basketball Bubble Watch: Wisconsin Badgers already in danger?

By Nathaniel Reeves

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 07: Head coach Randy Bennett of the Saint Mary's Gaels reacts during the championship game of the West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 7, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 07: Head coach Randy Bennett of the Saint Mary's Gaels reacts during the championship game of the West Coast Conference Basketball Tournament against the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Orleans Arena on March 7, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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These five college basketball bubble teams can make a move in Week 4 of the 2017-18 regular season.

Thanksgiving weekend was packed with college basketball action that brought huge changes to the rankings and could impact seed lines come Selection Sunday.

The inaugural PK80 lived up to the hype with a number of intriguing matchups between potential Final Four teams. Duke overcame a pair of large deficits against Texas and Florida to win the Motion Bracket, while Michigan State impressively blew out North Carolina 63-45 to claim the Victory Bracket final.

Contenders rolled in Portland, but it was a different story at the Battle 4 Atlantis, other than Villanova emerging with the crown. Arizona shockingly came away from the Bahamas with an 0-3 record to fall from No. 2 in the AP Poll to unranked, and Purdue had to settle for seventh place after dropping its first two games.

Meanwhile, some teams on the projected NCAA Tournament bubble made a move with impressive tournament showings. The Pac-12 bubble might be stronger than many thought with Arizona State and Washington State picking up tournament wins, while both Texas Tech and TCU jumped into the AP Poll and appear to be in good shape.

These five bubble teams face important games in Week 4 and will be worth keeping an eye on in the coming days.

Wisconsin Badgers

It’s difficult to imagine an NCAA Tournament without Wisconsin, but the Badgers are in serious danger of missing their first Big Dance since 1998 given their current form.

After earning two straight blowout victories to open the season, the Badgers have dropped four of their last five while facing a difficult schedule. Xavier dealt Wisconsin a rare home loss on Nov. 16, and the Badgers went 0-2 at the Hall of Fame Classic against UCLA and Baylor before being embarrassed by Virginia 49-37 on Monday night in Charlottesville.

While games against Virginia are always going to be ugly, something is seriously wrong with a Wisconsin offense that is averaging just over a point per trip, and the Badgers don’t have the elite defense to make up for it this year. None of those losses are damaging on their own, but the Badgers need to be careful moving forward with losses quickly piling up.

As long as forward Ethan Happ is on the court, the Badgers will have a chance to compete against anyone. The junior is one of the most efficient players in college basketball with an average of 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, although he was frustrated by Jack Salt and the Cavaliers earlier this week.

The Big Ten will play a pair of conference games this week, and Wisconsin needs to beat Ohio State at home on Saturday. A trip to Penn State, which will likely be on the bubble itself, two days later will be crucial for both teams.