The Wisconsin Badgers nearly pulled off an impressive double-digit comeback on the road against the Indiana Hoosiers on Saturday, but fell short by one point in an overtime thriller that had a ton of officiating controversy to end the game.
The loss came after Wisconsin had won seven of its last eight games, putting itself right back into the NCAA Tournament mix with a strong last month. Heading into Saturday’s game, most Bracketology predictions had Wisconsin at either an eight or a nine seed, with the matchup
against Indiana being a Quad 1 opportunity.
With the Hoosiers pulling off the victory, where did analysts rank the Badgers afterwards?
CBS Sports now has Wisconsin as a No. 9 seed, facing Auburn in a potential No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup in the East Region, where Duke is the projected No. 1 seed in the bracket. That would be quite an entertaining matchup with two top-tier offenses that have seen ups and downs defensively this season. The Tigers are 14-9, including 5-5 in conference play.
They’ve been the epitome of inconsistent, recording some major ranked wins over St. John’s, Arkansas, and Florida (road). But they’ve been blown out in other games, and sit near the middle of the SEC with their conference record.
On3’s James Fletcher III bumped Wisconsin from a No. 9 seed to a No. 10 seed, marking them as one of the last four byes. In that scenario, he has the Badgers facing No. 7 seed NC State in the East Region. The Wolfpack have done well in the ACC in head coach Will Wade’s first year at the helm, going 18-6 on the season and 9-2 in conference play.
Wisconsin is currently seen as a team that “Should Be In” the tournament by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. A team in that category matches the following:
“Teams tracking safely above the cutline, if not immune to trouble. Most likely, these teams should hear their names called March 15, though their fates are not yet assured.”
These next few games will be huge for the Badgers, with several chances to boost the team’s resume. They face No. 8 Illinois on the road on Tuesday before hosting No. 10 Michigan State on Friday at the Kohl Center. Then come matchups against Ohio State and red-hot Iowa, which are all projected as Quad 1 opportunities.
Wisconsin doesn’t need to be perfect here, but a marquee win would get them off the bubble and safer into the NCAA Tournament picture.
