Wisconsin basketball March Madness prediction: A look at where the Badgers could land after Northwestern win
INDIANAPOLIS – Wisconsin didn’t help its cause Thursday, but it didn't hurt itself either.
That is the state of the UW men’s basketball team with the NCAA tournament selection committee following its 70-63 victory over Northwestern at the Big Ten tournament. The Wildcats, a No. 13 seed with a 54 NET ranking, didn’t have the season necessary to help the Badgers' NCAA tournament résumé at this point.
The victory, however, set up Wisconsin for some meaningful matchups for the remainder of its run in the conference tournament.
Best case scenario: No. 3 seed
At one point the Badgers had a shot to be a No. 2 seed, but now it seems like the team is trying to solidify its status in the three spot. That, of course, would still be significant because it would give UW a chance to play its first-round game and, should it advance, its second-round matchup in Milwaukee.
Most likely scenario: No. 4 seed
The Badgers will finish the day ranked No. 19 in the NET ranking and No. 11 by KenPom.com. That ranking puts the Badgers in the neighborhood of No. 4 seed unless they can score an impressive win or two or three over the next couple of days.
Worst case scenario: No. 5 seed
At this point the Badgers won’t add a bad loss to their résumé , but it’s possible that a team rises and supplants them from a No. 4 seed. In the Big Ten alone are teams like Purdue and Michigan who could improve their lot with a couple more wins.
Wisconsin’s best win: Purdue
This was the difference in the Badgers being the No. 5 seed for the conference tournament and it falling into a potential tie-breaker for the No. 6 spot with Illinois and Oregon. This win also gets extra points for coming on the road against a team that was in first place at the time. Our runner-up for best win is Arizona, a team UW beat in November and has the highest NET ranking of any Badgers opponent.
Wisconsin’s worst loss: Penn State
Despite being the worst loss of the season the Nittany Lions have a respectable NET ranking (No. 66). That is better than three teams that made the Big Ten tournament field: USC (69), Rutgers (77) and Minnesota (95).
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: March Madness prediction for Wisconsin basketball NCAA tournament seed
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