BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — One thing we've learned throughout three months of college basketball in that there are five really good teams in the Big Ten. Michigan, Illinois, Michigan State, Nebraska are all ranked in the top 12 in this week's Associated Press poll. Same goes for the Coaches poll and the Kenpom.com computer rankings.

But what about after that? Who's really any good? And what about the Wisconsin Badgers, who come to Bloomington to take on Indiana at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon?

There are days they look really good. That's why they are 16-6 overall and 8-3 in the Big Ten. Those are legit numbers. But they aren't getting any national respect. Someone voted them No. 25 in the AP poll this week, for one point, and they didn't get any votes in the coaches poll.

They are No. 40 in Kenpom, five spots behind Indiana.

Part of the problem in evaluating Wisconsin is that they've looked awful in a lot of their high-profile games. They played BYU in Salt Lake City in November and lost by 28 points. In their first Big Ten road game at Nebraska in December, they lost by 30 points, and lost at home to Purdue by 16 in January.

But since then, they've won seven of eight games to become something of a factor in the Big Ten race. Included in there is a huge win over No. 2 Michigan in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines' only loss of the season. The rest of the schedule the past four weeks has been about as soft as it can get in the Big Ten, but they've been holding serve and stacking wins under Greg Gard, who's in his 11th season at the helm in Madison.

Here are three things to know about the Badgers prior to Saturday's early game, which tips off at Noon ET, and will televised on FOX.

Guard Nick Boyd played for current Michigan coach Dusty May for three years at Florida Atlantic, and then spent last season at San Diego State. In his fifth year of eligibility — his 2020-21 season was the COVID year that didn't count for anyone — and transferred to Wisconsin last summer. He's been an instant hit. 

Boyd is averaging 20 points a game and the Badgers are playing up-tempo much more than they have in the past. In this current 7-1 stretch, they are averaging 84.1 points per game. When they beat Ohio State 92-82  last Saturday, it was the ninth game of 90 points or more this season, which broke a school record.  

xxx "I think understanding the 'when to' and 'when not to,' he's gotten better and that,'' Gard said of Boyd. "By and large, he's done a good job of attracting a defense with his dribble penetration and then finding people and making plays.

"I like the pressure he constantly puts on a defense. It's opened up a lot of other things for us, too.''

John Blackwell, a 6-foot-4 guard from Bloomfield Hills, Mich. is in his third year at Wisconsin, and Hoosiers fans know him well through three matchups. He's averaging 18.5 points per game this season, hitting 37.5 percent from three and he's an 85-percent free throw shooter.

He had four games of 22 points or more in January, and torched Michigan for 26 points in their best win of the year. 

Blackwell loves the big moment, and never shies away from taking the big shots. Indiana will have to keep him in check on Saturday.

Wisconsin can come at you in waves, with three players coming off the bench and playing at least 15 minutes a game. 

Senior guard Braeden Carrington, who played two years at Minnesota before playing at Tulsa last year and then heading to Madison. He's hitting threes at a 41.7 percent clip in his 15-plus minutes off the bench.

1. Michigan Wolverines
5. Illinois Fighting Illini
9. Purdue Boilermakers
10. Michigan State Spartans
12. Nebraska Cornhuskers
15. Iowa Hawkeyes

35. Indiana Hoosiers
36. UCLA Bruins
38. Ohio State Buckeyes
40. Wisconsin Badgers
44. Washington Huskies
49. USC Trojans

69. Northwestern Wildcats
76. Minnesota Golden Gophers
105. Oregon Ducks
134. Penn State Nittany Lions
149. Maryland Terrapins
158. Rutgers Scarlet Knights