Each week leading up to the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on Selection Sunday, March 12, Andy Baggot will take a look at Wisconsin's potential tournament regional destinations.
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin men's basketball team labored to the finish line of the regular season, losing five of its last seven games, but its NCAA tournament stock hasn't fallen dramatically.
According to most reputable bracket forecasters, the Badgers are currently in line to be seeded sixth or seventh for the 68-team national championship field.
Those projections are subject to change starting Friday when second-seeded UW (23-8 overall) faces either Iowa or Indiana in the Big Ten Conference tournament in Washington, D.C.
Regardless of what happens in the days leading up to Selection Sunday, when the NCAA unveils its official seeds and brackets, Wisconsin is essentially guaranteed of making its 19th-consecutive appearance in the national tournament.
During that run of NCAA tournament berths, the Badgers have been seeded sixth twice (2004 and '05) and seventh twice (1997 and 2016). One of those years included Wisconsin's thrilling run to the 2005 Elite Eight as a No. 6 seed.
According to Joe Lunardi of ESPN and Jerry Palm of CBS Sports, Wisconsin is currently seeded sixth.
Lunardi has UW slotted in the East regional where it will face Middle Tennessee for the opportunity to play either Florida State or Winthrop in Orlando, Florida.
Palm has the Badgers situated in the Midwest regional where they will play the winner of Wake Forest and Kansas State in the first round in Sacramento, California. A victory would put UW opposite Louisville or Bucknell.
Meanwhile, Shelby Mast of USA Today currently has Wisconsin as a seventh seed in the East regional. Its first-round opponent would be Providence with the survivor facing either Florida State or Northern Kentucky in Orlando.
The Badgers certainly could have an opportunity to change their seed line this weekend in Washington, D.C. If Wisconsin can get past Iowa or Indiana in the quarterfinals, it's potential path to a Big Ten tournament championship could feature a pair of marquee wins. UW could face both Maryland and Purdue, who are No. 24 and No. 19, respectively in the RPI.
The Badgers currently own four top-50 wins and 14 top-100 wins. Picking up a few more this weekend couldn't hurt in the committee's eyes.
A carrot for the Badgers in the Big Ten tournament is enough success that they could have their opening round games assigned to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee. Lunardi's bracket currently has Big Ten regular-season champion Purdue as a fourth seed playing in Milwaukee.
The Badgers have reached the Sweet 16 of the national tournament three consecutive seasons and five out of the last six.
Additional Read: Sports Illustrated Bracket Watch: How conference tournaments could shake up the top seeds
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Badgers' Bracketology:
