The Wisconsin Badgers went on a nice run to finish the season, racking up five consecutive wins, including three Quad 1 wins, before falling just short in a 68-65 loss to the Michigan Wolverines on Saturday.
Wisconsin has been through a lot of tosses and turns this season, as seen by their 10-5 start where they really struggled against Quad 1 teams, to their second half of the year, where they’ve picked up huge wins over major top-15 teams.
The Badgers have one of the strongest resumes in the country
when it comes to top wins, having beaten the Illinois Fighting Illini (2x), Michigan State Spartans, Purdue Boilermakers, and the Michigan Wolverines this season. Those were all top-15 wins with all but one coming away from the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin’s push in February, which included wins over Illinois, Michigan State, Iowa, and Washington, really strengthened the Badgers resume, as they now are up to eight Quad 1 wins following the Big Ten Tournament and rank No. 22 in KenPom.
Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, the Badgers were almost universally projected as a No. 6 seed. But, after wins over Washington and Illinois, that has changed, as they’ve bumped the Tennessee Volunteers, who lost four of their last six and won just one game at the NCAA Tournament.
Now, Wisconsin is seen universally as a projected No. 5 seed. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had Wisconsin as the No. 20 team overall and the final No. 5 seed in the bracket after their win over Illinois. That was the case still after their loss to Michigan, which wasn’t expected to impact or deter their seeding much.
CBS Sports initially had Wisconsin as a No. 6 seed after their win over Illinois, but has bumped them up to a No. 5 seed heading into Selection Sunday, also ranking them as the No. 20 overall seed. In both cases, St. John’s, Arkansas, and Texas Tech are the other No. 5 seeds in the field. Both brackets also have Wisconsin in the West Region.
USA Today’s Bracketology fits under the same thumb, as they have Wisconsin in the West Region as a No. 5 seed as well following the week. Same goes for our friends at SB Nation with their projection. So, things seem pretty set for the Badgers with their projected seeding after this week, safe enough to even potentially say that anything other than a No. 5 seed would be a major surprise.
It all comes down to the Region. If the Badgers do end up in the West, they will very likely have a draw with the No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats in the Sweet Sixteen (assuming Wisconsin makes it there), which would be a tough matchup. But it’s all about getting there in the first place.
The Selection Sunday Show takes place at 5:00 p.m. CT on CBS, where Wisconsin will ultimately hear their fate. Until then, we wait.
