Wisconsin Gets Well; Will Pittsburgh?

It has been a very interesting start to the conference season in college basketball, and nothing over the first couple of weeks of 2012 has been more surprising than the horrific starts of two perennial power-conference powers: Wisconsin of the Big Ten, and Pittsburgh of the Big East. The Badgers dropped three straight after opening conference play with a win at Nebraska, including losses to Iowa (yuck) and Michigan State on their usually impenetrable home floor. The Panthers have dropped their first four conference games (and five overall), including two defeats at the Petersen Events Center, where they were practically unbeatable before this season (they also dropped non-conference games at home to Long Beach State and Wagner).

Both of these teams are accustomed to being at or near the top of their respective leagues, and both were expected to more or less maintain the status quo this season. So is there any hope for either of them?