The Wisconsin Badgers are taking on the High Point Panthers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, earning a No. 5 seed from the selection committee on Sunday in the West Region.
The seeding and placement was expected for the Badgers, who improved their resume this week with wins over the Washington Huskies and Illinois Fighting Illini, getting them on the five-line as the No. 20 overall seed in the bracket.
The only question was: who would their opponent be? Ultimately, that turned
out to be High Point, who made the tournament for the second straight year, where they’ll face a Big Ten opponent for the second straight year.
High Point, which went 30-4 this season en route to a second-straight Big South title, was a No. 13 seed last year and a trendy upset pick against the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers. But they fell 75-63 in the first round and saw a quick exit in the NCAA Tournament. This season, they’ll hope to have a different fortune, facing the Badgers in the first round.
Losing on Saturday to the Michigan Wolverines in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, the Badgers were able to get an extra day of rest to recover before March Madness. That proved to be helpful, as the NCAA gave Wisconsin a Thursday tip-off.
Here’s all the details for Wisconsin’s first game of the tournament.
Date: Thursday, March 19th
Time: 12:50 p.m. CT
Channel: TBS
Announcers: Brad Nessler, Wally Szczerbiak and Jared Greenberg
Spread: Wisconsin -9.5
Over/Under: 164.5 points
