Wisconsin Basketball: Badgers Big Ten Tournament Fate Revealed

Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program will officially enter the Big Ten Tournament as a No. 5 seed after a recent loss against Purdue and victories for Northwestern and Nebraska.

This places them against the winner of the Maryland-Rutgers matchup on Thursday, with tip-off scheduled for approximately 1:30 p.m. central on Big Ten Network. 

The Wisconsin Badgers — who’ve won just three out of their last ten games — had a 2-1 record against both teams during the regular season, splitting with Rutgers and defeating Maryland in their sole encounter.

Big Ten Tournament time. Let’s ride. pic.twitter.com/XVunnVH8WH

— Dillon Graff (@DillonGraff) March 11, 2024

Wisconsin Basketball Misses on Double-Bye in Big Ten Tournament

Mar 7, 2024; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard reacts to a foul call during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Should the Badgers win on Thursday against the winner of the 12/13 matchup, they would face Northwestern in the following round. Wisconsin basketball took down the Wildcats 71-63 in their sole meeting at the Kohl Center in January and would make for an intriguing matchup.

Despite UW’s post-February collapse, including a challenging stretch that resulted in eight losses in their final 11 games, the Badgers are back to full health after the returns of John Blackwell and Kamari McGee and showed some signs of promise heading into postseason action.

While a repeat of their 2016-17 tournament run, where they reached the championship game, seems unlikely, Wisconsin basketball maintains a comfortable position for the NCAA Tournament, and isn’t in danger of sweating it out on selection Sunday this year.

“I mean, our body of work speaks for itself,” Gard told reporters. “You look at who we played and what we’ve did throughout the course of the year.. yeah. If you look again, you go back to November, December, January, you sputter a little bit in February.. we’ve got a really good resume.

“I’m not going to get into the quad ones, quads two’s, and who’s played who and all that. We’re right there, we’ll worry in another week.”

Despite their slide from No. 6 in the Associated Press top 25 polls to unranked, the Badgers are still anticipated to secure a No. 6 or No. 7 seed, according to most bracketologists, ensuring their presence in the upcoming tournament. Let’s hope they find a way to get hot when it matters.

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