Badgers Bracketology: NCAA tournament seed predictions
A couple of months ago we might have been talking about NIT bracketology instead of potential seeds in the NCAA tournament for the Wisconsin Badgers.
But a nine-game winning streak (and winning 11 of 12) helped get the Badgers as a near-certain lock to make the Big Dance.
However, bowing out of the Big Ten tournament with an upset loss to Nebraska after just one game is going to hurt Wisconsin's long-term chances in the NCAAs.
A decent run in the Big Ten likely could have earned Wisconsin at least a 6 seed -- meaning it would avoid one of the top-eight teams for a couple of rounds.
However, now prognosticators see the Badgers as getting a 7 seed or lower -- meaning a likely date with a 1 or 2 seed in Round 2 (presuming, of course, UW wins and no major upset in the opening round).
Things can certainly change from now until Sunday, but one thing is for sure: Wisconsin can't make any more cases for itself. The Badgers' resume is complete. Now, UW is going to have to hope it isn't passed up by other at-large hopefuls.
Right now, a 7 seed appears to be the best bet. A drop to the 8 or 9 means a 1 seed in Round 2. It is hard to imagine UW dropping all the way to an 11 or 12 (where an upset in the opening round would allow the Badgers to play a 3 or 4 seed, at best, in their next game).
With that as the backdrop, here's how where the bracketologists see Wisconsin landing after its loss Thursday night. I've included the potential second-round game as well, when given.
Let the madness commence!
-- Stuart Mandel, FOXSports.com: 7 seed vs. Pittsburgh. Next round: No. 2 Oklahoma.
-- Jerry Palm, CBSSports.com: 8 seed vs. Saint Joseph's. Next round: No. 1 Kansas.
-- Joe Lunardi, ESPN.com: 7 seed vs. St. Bonaventure. Next round: No. 2 Oregon.
-- Chris Dobbertean, SBNation: 7 seed vs. St. Bonaventure. Next round: No. 2 Oregon.
-- Shelby Mast, USA Today Sports: 8 seed vs. Pittsburgh. Next round: No. 1 Villanova.
-- Dave Ommen, NBCSports.com: 8 seed vs. USC. Next round: No. 1 Kansas.
-- Brad Evans, Yahoo.com: 7 seed (based on rankings, would face Cincinnati).
-- Warren Nolan: 9 seed vs. Oregon State. Next round: No. 1 Virginia.
-- The Bracket Matrix: 7 seed vs. Vanderbilt. Next round: No. 2 Oregon.
-- Bracketville: 8 seed vs. USC. Next round: No. 1 Kansas.
-- Daily Bracket: 7 seed vs. Cincinnati. Next round: No. 2 Oregon.
-- ncaabracketology: 10 seed vs. Saint Joseph's. Next round: No. 2 Virginia.
-- Shelby's Bracket WAG: 8 seed vs. Pittsburgh. Next round: No. 1 Villanova.
-- Madness365: 7 seed (10 seeds listed as Butler, Vanderbilt, Tulsa, Temple).
-- PrimeTimeBracketology: 7 seed (10 seeds listed as Gonzaga, UConn, Cincinnati, St. Mary's).
-- TeamRankings: 6 seed (11 seeds listed are Wichita State, UNC-Wilmington, South Dakota State, St. Mary's, UConn).
Follow Dave Heller on Twitter
