MINNEAPOLIS – Greg Gard never changes how he approaches the NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin’s veteran head coach doesn’t fret over the seeding his team secures and he puts little stock into the notion that a Big Ten school facing a mid-major is an automatic victory for the marquee program.

As Gard noted after UW (22-13) secured the No. 5 seeding in the South Regional Sunday and drew No. 12 James Madison (31-3) of the Sun Belt on Friday in Brooklyn, the Badgers will be facing a quality foe.

“The 68 teams that are in are all good,” he said, adding that then-No. 1 Virginia was upset by No. 16 Maryland Baltimore-County in the 2018 tournament. “You know my line: All the bad teams are on spring break.

“They are 31-3. They won the Sun Belt. They beat Michigan State in overtime the first game of the year. They’re old – a lot of grad transfers.

“Everybody you’re going to play this time of year is really good. You can erase all these numbers, the seed lines.

“We’ve seen 16s have popped ones in the last few years.”

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James Madison stunned Michigan State in the season opener

Tom Izzo’s Michigan State team opened the season No. 4 in the polls and a popular Final Four pick.

James Madison went into the Breslin Center on Nov. 6 and stunned the Spartans 79-76 in overtime.

The victory was the program’s second ever over a a top-25 team. The first came in 1992 when Lefty Driesell led the Dukes to a 90-75 victory over California.

Terrence Edwards Jr. scored 24 points and T.J Bickerstaff added 21 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Dukes past Michigan State. They combined to hit 13 of 26 shots.

Bickerstaff hit a jumper with 30 seconds left in regulation to forge a 68-68 tie and reserve Raekwon Horton hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the game to give the Dukes a 78-74 lead.

The Dukes limited Michigan State to 1 of 20 three-pointers and 26 of 72 shots overall.

James Madison has an impressive resume

James Madison finished second in the Sun Belt during the regular season with a 15-3 mark, one game behind Appalachian State.

The Dukes went 3-0 in the Sun Belt Tournament, securing the league's automatic bid with a 91-71 victory over Arkansas State.

James Madison is in the NCAA field for the first time in 11 seasons.

The Dukes have set the record for most victories by a Sun Belt team. They broke the mark of 30, set by Little Rock's 2015-16 team. That Little Rock team, coached by Chris Beard, was seeded No. 12 in the tournament and upset No. 5 Purdue 85-83 in two overtimes in the first round. Iowa State ended Little Rock's season with a 78-61 victory in the second round.

The Dukes enter the tournament tied with defending champion Connecticut (31-3) for the most victories this season.

James Madison won its first 14 games of the season and enters the NCAAs with a 13-game winning streak.

You want numbers? The Dukes stack up.

James Madison averages 84.4 points per game, the No. 9 mark nationally. The Dukes are No. 8 nationally in scoring margin at plus-15.1. They hold opponents to 28.8% three-point shooting, the No. 5 mark nationally, and are No. 16 nationally in steals per game (nine).

James Madison's three losses came at Southern Miss, 71-61 on Jan. 6; at home against Appalachian State, 59-55 on Jan. 13; and at Appalachian State, 82-76 on Jan. 27.

Wisconsin vs. James Madison prediction in March Madness

The fifth-seeded Badgers average just 9.7 turnovers per game. If they can protect the ball against the Dukes and work the ball inside-out and get quality shots, they should be able to avoid the upset.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin vs James Madison prediction: March Madness, NCAA pick is in