Wisconsin basketball’s NCAA Tournament bracketology projection entering Big Ten Tournament

[ad_1]

Wisconsin basketball (23-8, 13-7 Big Ten) fell to No. 14 overall in Joe Lunardi’s ESPN bracketology update on Wednesday.

The update follows the Badgers’ disappointing home loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions (16-15, 6-14 Big Ten) on Saturday. Wisconsin shot under 30% from the floor and just 21.43% from outside in the second half against Mike Rhoades’s team in arguably its most head-scratching performance of the season

Lunardi’s latest bracketology also arrives ahead of Wisconsin’s first test in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. If the Badgers drop that contest, their standing in the NCAA Tournament’s upper echelon is in real jeopardy.

As was the case during UW’s late-game meltdown against the Oregon Ducks on Feb. 22 and late defeat to the Michigan State Spartans on March 2, the loss to Penn State prompted downward movement in Lunardi’s bracketology and other notable national rating metrics. The team is now down to No. 12 in KenPom, No. 18 in the AP Poll and No. 19 in the NCAA NET Rankings.

Before Penn State, Lunardi ranked the Badgers as the No. 9 team in the nation and the top No. 3 seed. The team’s collapse spurred the analyst to move it down five spots to No. 14 overall, firmly on the No. 4-seed line.

Wisconsin now ranks behind Auburn, Duke, Houston, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Michigan State, Texas Tech, Kentucky, Texas A&M, St. John’s, Iowa State and Maryland.

Here are the top seeds from Lunardi’s updated bracket:

East: No. 1 Duke (No. 2 overall), No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Iowa State, No. 4 Maryland

West: No. 1 Florida (No. 4 overall), No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 3 Kentucky, No. 4 Purdue

Midwest: No. 1 Houston (No. 3 overall), No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 St. John’s, No. 4 Wisconsin

South: No. 1 Auburn (No. 1 overall) No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Clemson

Wisconsin’s place at No. 14 overall is the lowest the team has stood over the past month. The team had climbed to as high as a No. 2 seed after defeating Illinois in late February. Lunardi projected it as a No. 3 seed…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/wisconsin-basketballs-ncaa-tournament-bracketology-220613740.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2025-03-12 22:06:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.