Purdue remains No. 1 in Saturday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings simply because the Boilermakers have the sport’s best body of work thanks to a 6-2 record in Quadrant 1 opportunities with zero additional losses.
Purdue, however, does not have the Big Ten’s best record.
That belongs to Wisconsin, which improved to 6-1 in the conference Friday night with a 91-79 victory over an Indiana team that’s now 0-6 in Quadrant 1 opportunities. The Badgers, meantime, are 8-4 in the first two quadrants with only one loss falling outside of Q1. That’s among the reasons Greg Gard’s program remains No. 10 in the Top 25 And 1.
Max Klesmit was the star against IU.
The 6-foot-4 fourth-year player took 11 shots, made eight of them and finished with 26 points and two steals in 30 minutes. Incredibly, Klesmit scored 20 straight points for Wisconsin in the second half during a stretch that lasted less than five minutes.
“He’s obviously extremely confident,” Gard said. “He’s worked on his game too. He’s gotten better. He’s better physically. He’s quicker. He’s changed his body in a positive way. I think the confidence for him that started last year and blossomed in the offseason [is] obviously … showing now.”
Let the record show that I still have Purdue repeating as the Big Ten’s champion, perhaps by multiple games. But I’ve seen enough to believe that Wisconsin should be considered a serious threat to the Boilermakers — as should Illinois, especially if Terrence Shannon Jr. is actually going to rejoin the program and play with rape charges pending. We’ll find out Sunday, I suppose. Either way, my point is that after only being tied for sixth to win the Big Ten in the preseason betting markets, the Badgers now have the second-best odds to take the league crown at +450. Only Purdue has better odds at -300.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
