Where does the Wisconsin men's basketball team stand heading into the 2024 NCAA Tournament on Selection Sunday?
The Wisconsin men's basketball team is heading for the NCAA Tournament after missing out last year, although a rough run through the second half of the season has turned a once-promising season for a top-10 team into a situation where the Badgers are going to be a first-round underdog on paper.
Big Ten tournament semifinals: Wisconsin stuns No. 3 Purdue in overtime to reach title game
The basics on Wisconsin men's basketball
Coach: Greg Gard (ninth season)
Record: 22-12 (11-9 in Big Ten)
Record in last 10: 6-4
Best wins in 2024: vs. No. 3 Purdue on March 16, 76-75; vs. No. 3 Marquette on Dec. 2, 75-64; vs. No. 24 Virginia on Nov. 20, 65-41
Puzzling loss in 2024: at Michigan on Feb. 7, 72-68
Place in ratings systems: KenPom, No. 17; T-Rank, No. 23; Associated Press poll, NR
Leading scorers: AJ Storr (16.6 ppg); Steven Crowl (11.2); Tyler Wahl (11.1); Max Klesmit (9.5)
Last time in NCAA Tournament: 2022 (No. 3 seed), won first-round game vs. Colgate, lost in second round to Iowa State
Last time making second weekend: 2017 (lost to Florida in Sweet 16)
Final Four appearances: 2015 (national runner-up); 2014 (lost in national semifinal); 2000 (lost in national semifinal); 1941 (national champion)
Has Wisconsin flipped the switch back to its pre-February settings?
On Jan. 26, Wisconsin handled Michigan State at the Kohl Center and moved to 16-4 on the year, en route to the No. 6 ranking in the Jan. 29 Associated Press poll. And then ... everything fell apart.
Wisconsin lost its next four games and seven of nine, including five to unranked foes (and four that aren't likely to make the NCAA Tournament). Suddenly, the Badgers were clawing and scratching for every possible win heading into the Big Ten Tournament. Other teams have limped into the NCAA Tournament before and gone on a run, and UW does have individual talent. Can it be one of those teams?
The Big Ten Tournament certainly offered a glimmer of possibility, when the Badgers routed Maryland and followed up with impressive wins over Northwestern and top-three team Purdue.
Where do bracket projections believe Wisconsin will wind up?
Heading into the Big Ten tournament, bracket projections from ESPN's Joe Lunardi, CBS analyst Jerry Palm and Fox Sports all had Wisconsin on the 6-seed line, while USA TODAY had Wisconsin dipping to a seventh seed. But now Lunardi sees Wisconsin as a No. 5.
Who are potential Wisconsin opponents in the first round?
If Wisconsin gets a No. 6 seed, it'll be paired with a No. 11 seed, which can include a team vying for a spot through the "First Four" play-in games in Dayton. That could be a blessing or a curse; only once since the format began in 2011 has no team from the First Four failed to advance beyond the next round of games. UCLA famously went from the First Four to the Final Four in 2021, VCU did the same back in 2011 and three others have been to the Sweet 16.
Among the potential foes are Virginia, New Mexico, St. John's, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Colorado and Drake. Virginia, with former Wisconsin assistant and Wisconsin basketball royalty Tony Bennett at the helm, would be a particularly compelling matchup, though St. John's would pit Wisconsin's leading scorer (AJ Storr) against the program he played for last year before transferring. Also: Rick Pitino would be leading a sixth different team into the NCAA Tournament.
Where will Wisconsin play its first-round game?
First and second-round host sites for the 2024 tournament include Brooklyn, Charlotte, Omaha, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Spokane, Memphis and Indianapolis. Without the geographic priority of higher seeds, it's hard to project. Two of the three brackets that project site assignment said Pittsburgh for Wisconsin, another said Charlotte.
When will we know Wisconsin's first-round destination for sure?
The men's bracket will be slowly unveiled beginning at 5 p.m. CT on CBS and the women's bracket will get unveiled at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's March Madness bracket predictions for 2024 NCAA Tournament
