With three Big Ten regular season games remaining, the Wisconsin Badgers will soon prepare for the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament. The Big Ten tournament begins on March 10. The NCAA tournament begins March 18. Here is a look at how the Badgers currently fare after their win against Northwestern Sunday night.
Big Ten Tournament
The Badgers are currently the 6th seed if the season ended today. They would get the winner of Nebraska and Michigan State.
𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮: pic.twitter.com/nYRe7NlweB
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) February 22, 2021
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to face Michigan State that early in the tournament. The Spartans have had a rough season, but Tom Izzo proves year in and year out they play their best ball in March.
I believe a double bye is really tough for Wisconisn to get at the point. However, I don’t think it’s impossible. What intrigues me is the 5th seed with Purdue. Wisconsin travels to Purdue on March 2. If they can beat them and then beat either Illinois at home or on the road at Iowa, I think the Badgers get the 5 seed. Assuming the 11-14 seeds stay as is, I think it’s a better initial draw. However, if the Badgers were to beat Michigan State and face Ohio State, I like their chances at an upset over the other three top seeds. A lot is up in the air, but I think the Badgers are looking at the 5 or 6 seed in the conference tournament.
NCAA Tournament Projections
Obviously the NCAA tournament is what really matters. Joe Lunardi, the bracketologist for ESPN, currently has Wisconsin as a 5 seed. They would currently be playing Belmont. The 4-13 matchup would be USC and Western Kentucky.
HEADLINES:
• Baylor does not drop off the top line (but falls below Michigan) with a loss.
• VCU drops to LAST FOUR IN with a loss to Saint Louis (and Billikens move up to FIRST FOUR OUT).
• UConn bumps Colorado State for the final at-large spot with a win at Georgetown. pic.twitter.com/OJhfe8HGdF— Joe Lunardi (@ESPNLunardi) February 23, 2021
I tend to follow Joe Lunardi the most of the bracket experts. He proves every year why he is one of the best in the business and gets a majority of the teams and seeds correct.
Andy Katz from NCAA.com has the Badgers as 5 seed as well, playing Belmont too. The 4-13 matchup would be USC and Toledo.
🚨 BRACKET PREDICTION 🚨@TheAndyKatz dropped his final bracket prediction of February! 👀
👉 https://t.co/xng4nxLdso pic.twitter.com/FEIaUYpnHQ
— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) February 23, 2021
Mike DeCourcey, the bracket expert for FOX Sports, has Wisconsin has a 6 seed, battling Xavier. The 3-14 matchup would be Florida State and UNC Greensboro. This would be a tough battle to get out of the first weekend for the Badgers.
The four one-seeds stay the same:
🌰 @OhioStateHoops
🐻 @BaylorMBB
〽️ @umichbball
🐶 @ZagMBBAgree with the latest tournament field from @tsnmike? pic.twitter.com/mR6o48vfQx
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) February 22, 2021
Finally, Jerry Palm of CBS Sports has Wisconsin as a 7 seed, taking on Western Kentucky. The 2-15 matchup would be Oklahoma and Eastern Washington. I think this a bit of a reach from Palm. The only I see the Badgers as 7 seed is if they lose the remainder of their games leading up to the NCAA tournament.
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