Wisconsin basketball NCAA Tournament bracket final predictions

[ad_1]

The No. 3-seed Wisconsin Badgers are set to meet the No. 14-seed Montana Grizzlies in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon.

Wisconsin enters as the prohibitive betting favorite, plus ranks 144 spots higher in KenPom (No. 13 to No. 157) and 155 in ESPN’s BPI (No. 18 vs. No. 173). While March Madness is known to create upsets and hard-to-predict results, it would be a complete shock if Wisconsin didn’t advance to the second round.

The round of 32 is where Greg Gard’s team’s road begins to get interesting. Both No. 6 BYU and No. 11 VCU appear much stronger than their seed line indicates. BYU is KenPom’s No. 24 overall team, led by the nation’s No. 11-ranked offense. VCU, meanwhile, is right there at No. 30. Either way, Wisconsin is set for a real test as early as Saturday.

Past that, the Badgers may be on a collision course with No. 2-seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 and No. 1-seed Duke in the Elite Eight. Both of those top-ranked teams expect to get star players back from injury — Grant Nelson and Cooper Flagg, respectively. Wisconsin’s road through the NCAA Tournament may come down to how those two players perform — if and when they are able to go. For those headlines to matter, the Badgers would need to reach the Sweet 16, something they haven’t done in seven years.

With the tipoff of the first round just 24 hours away, the Badgers Wire staff got together to predict how Wisconsin will fare against Montana, as well as in the entire NCAA Tournament.

Score predictions for Wisconsin vs. Montana

Ben Kenney: Wisconsin should have no trouble returning to its peak form against a low-ranked Montana team. That includes better shooting numbers, improved play from John Tonje, interior scoring from Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter and bench contributions from Kamari McGee and Carter Gilmore. The big question will come in the next game when either BYU or VCU presents a legitimate test. Score: Wisconsin 87, Montana 62

Mike Hall: Wisconsin’s round of 64 outcome…

[ad_2]
Source link : https://badgerswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/badgers/mens-basketball/2025/03/19/wisconsin-ncaa-tournament-bracket-predictions/82528342007/

Author :

Publish date : 2025-03-19 12:28:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.