CBGB: Wisconsin Can't Lose, North Carolina Can't Shoot, Big 12 Can't Stop

Welcome to the VICE Sports College Basketball Grab Bag, where every week we'll round up the biggest news stories in the sport. Random stuff, too, because it's college basketball. Enjoy!

When longtime head coach Bo Ryan abruptly retired before the start of Big Ten play, and Wisconsin had suffered inexplicable losses to Western Illinois and UW-Milwaukee, I wrote that this would probably be the year that the Badgers finally missed the NCAA tournament for the first time in 18 seasons.

But beware, I also wrote, because Wisconsin will always sneak up on you when you don't expect it:

Anyone college age or younger has only known Wisconsin as a good basketball program. That's shocking to people who followed campus hoops before 2000, but in the end, that's what Ryan did: he created a juggernaut at a place that had rarely sniffed basketball success. So even though he has now abruptly left behind what may end up as his worst team ever, only a fool would count the Badgers out.

"I'll see you down the road," Ryan said in his final press conference. As a fan of teams who already have seen far too much of his black magic, that's precisely what I'm scared of.

And what do you know? The Badgers are surging, right on schedule.

Despite having an interim coach and losing four of its best players from last season, this young, not-all-that-talented Wisconsin squad has won six straight in Big Ten play, including games against Michigan State and Indiana. In turn, this has vaulted the Badgers onto the NCAA tournament bubble.

There's still a lot of work to do, with upcoming games at Iowa, Maryland, Purdue, and Michigan State, but Wisconsin is doing what Wisconsin does, and is largely in control of its own postseason fate.

There's some black magic in Madison, I swear.

Just last week, it looked like North Carolina was the frontrunner in the ACC. The Tar Heels have some glaring flaws, like spotty three-point shooting, but they play a fairly sustainable style and have the talent to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament.

However, the past three games have been a disaster for UNC. The Tar Heels lost to Louisville and Notre Dame—the two best teams they've faced in ACC play—and nearly lost at putrid Boston College. As a result, North Carolina has fallen all the way from No. 4 to No. 10 in the KenPom.com ratings.

I still believe in UNC's offense overall. The Tar Heels rank No. 4 nationally in offensive efficiency, and Brice Johnson and Marcus Paige are two of the most talented players in the ACC. For the most part, UNC will be able to be more efficiently than inferior opponents, but their inability to shoot from deep could be a fatal flaw against good teams that can. North Carolina has some theoretically good shooters, like Paige, but it hasn't gotten enough production from them. That has to change in order for the Tar Heels to make a deep run in March.

Here are the current Big 12 standings:

T-1. Oklahoma (8-3)
T-1. Kansas (8-3)
T-1. West Virginia (8-3)
T-4. Texas (7-4)
T-4. Baylor (7-4)
6. Iowa State

That's five teams within a game of first place, and six teams within two. It already has been a crazy season. Oklahoma beat Iowa State, Texas, Baylor, and West Virginia, but lost to Kansas and Iowa State. Kansas beat Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas, and Baylor, but lost to West Virginia and Iowa State. West Virginia beat Kansas, Iowa State, and Baylor, but lost to Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

Confused yet? And those are just the conference's front-runners.

The Big 12 is the best conference in college basketball this year, with six great teams that can beat each other on any given night. And things are just getting going. Here's a sample of what's left:

Kansas at Oklahoma, Kansas at Baylor, Iowa State at Kansas, Iowa State at West Virginia, West Virginia at Texas, West Virginia at Baylor, Oklahoma at West Virginia, Oklahoma at Texas, Baylor at Oklahoma.

Get ready for an awesomely wild—or wildly awesome—three weeks, with six teams fighting to end Kansas's 11-year streak of conference titles.

This week, Louisville announced that it was self-imposing a one-year postseason ban due to the program's alleged use of prostitutes to aid in recruiting. With that in mind, let's rank the five worst kinds of punishments within the NCAA system.

1. Self-imposed sanctions: Why are schools allowed to punish themselves? That makes absolutely no sense. Moreover, when they do, the people in charge of the punishments tend to get off scot-free. For instance, in Louisville's postseason ban, the players are punished, but the administrators aren't.

2. Postseason bans: Most postseason bans come well after the offending players are out of school, meaning athletes who had nothing to do with the malfeasance are punished. This makes no sense.

3. Vacating wins: You know that nice Sweet Sixteen season you had? DIDN'T HAPPEN, SORRY! Even though we all watched it.

4. Scholarship losses: Again, this hurts players just as much as it hurts schools. It means some players potentially won't get offered scholarships to their dream schools, and it means players who aren't ready to play are forced to see action quicker.

5. Public reprimand:

As always: you're welcome, America.