Examining the Wisconsin Basketball Team’s NCAA Tournament Path

After a turbulent month of February, the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program has hit its stride at the right time. 

UW came up short in the Big Ten Tournament final against Illinois, but it was still an impressive run for Greg Gard and company. The Badgers hit 16 threes en route to a win over Maryland, received significant contributions from AJ Storr to take down Northwestern, and defeated Purdue in the final seconds of overtime before falling in the championship game. 

Following a strong tournament run, Wisconsin received the No. 5 seed in the south region with a first-round matchup against James Madison on deck. 

Here’s a look at Wisconsin’s region and path in the NCAA Tournament. 

Wisconsin Basketball Has a Tough Road in the NCAA Tournament

You’d be hard-pressed to find a tougher region in the tournament field than the south region. Highlighted by No. 1 Houston, teams such as Marquette, Kentucky, Duke, Texas Tech, Nebraska, Texas A&M, and several others made it into the south bracket. 

Wisconsin’s opening matchup against James Madison will be the first meeting between the two programs ever. The Dukes are among the strongest 12 seeds to make the tournament, logging a record of 31-3 on the season and securing a championship win in the Sun Belt Tournament. James Madison will come into the opening round looking to extend a 13-game win streak as the Badgers look to survive an infamous 12-5 upset. 

If the Badgers take down James Madison, they’ll face either No. 4 Duke or No. 13 Vermont in the second round. Should the Blue Devils take down Vermont, it would be the first time Wisconsin and Duke have squared off since the 2015 NCAA Championship game. Duke boasts a 24-8 record heading into the tournament after falling in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals against the ACC Champions, NC State. Vermont took home the American East trophy to finish the season at 26-8, defeating UMass-Lowell in the championship game. 

If Wisconsin basketball can go on a massive run to the Sweet 16, their most likely opponent would be top-ranked Houston, but other options would be No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Texas A&M, or No. 16 Longwood. 

Beyond that, Wisconsin has the potential for an I-94 rivalry match in the Elite Eight against Marquette, with other potential matchups including Kentucky, Texas Tech, Florida, NC State, Oakland, Western Kentucky, and the winner of the Colorado vs. Boise State play-in game. 

Wisconsin basketball is on a good streak of play heading into the big dance, and it will be exciting to see if the Badgers can make a run in a loaded region.

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