CHICAGO, Ill. — Following a loss to No. 1 Illinois in the Big Ten tournament championship, Wisconsin received a No. 6 seed for the NCAA tournament.
The Badgers drew a first-round matchup with No. 11-seeded Northern Iowa in Oklahoma City. Should the Badgers advance to the second round, they will likely face No. 3 seed Kansas, who will take on No. 14 Bucknell in the opening round.
“We’ve got a Northern Iowa team that’s going to be coming ready to play,” forward Mike Wilkinson said. “We’ve got to take care of that, otherwise we’re done.”
If the Badgers reach the Sweet 16, they will travel to Syracuse, NY, where potential opponents include No. 2-seeded Connecticut, No. 7 Charlotte and No. 10 N.C. State. North Carolina holds the No. 1 seed in the Syracuse bracket, but the Badgers would not face the Tar Heels until the Elite Eight.
For now, the Badgers have their sights set on Northern Iowa. Bo Ryan, who coached against Northern Iowa at UW-Platteville when coach Greg McDermott played for the Panthers, will not take the first-round matchup lightly.
“I don’t get to see them very much, but I know they play hard; they almost beat Georgia Tech,” Ryan said, referencing a game between the Panthers and the Yellow Jackets last season that Georgia Tech won 65-60. “They’re fundamentally sound, play hard, a great matchup for us.”
Five Big Ten teams earned a bid to the NCAA tournament, giving the conference the same number of bids as the ACC. Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota and Iowa will all join Wisconsin in the Big Dance.
“That’s great for our conference,” Wilkinson said. “It’s nice to see Iowa, Illinois and all five teams get in. It makes it that much better for the league. I think people will see how tough this conference really is.”
After taking home the Big Ten tournament title and regular season crown, No. 1 Illinois received a No. 1 seed in the Chicago bracket, meaning the Illini will play their Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games in their home state.
The Illini will take on No. 16 seed Farleigh-Dickinson in the opening round. Oklahoma State, Arizona and Boston College drew the No. 2, 3 and 4 seeds in the Chicago bracket.
Michigan State drew a No. 5 seed, earning the Spartans a first-round date with No. 12 Old Dominion. Minnesota received a No. 8 seed and a first-round matchup with No. 9 Iowa State. The second Big Ten bubble team, Iowa, enters the Dance as a No. 10 seed. The Hawkeyes will face the No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats in the opening round.
Horizon League champion UW-Milwaukee received a No. 12 seed and a first-round matchup with No. 5 Alabama in Cleveland, Ohio.
In addition to Illinois and North Carolina, Pac-10 tournament champion Washington and ACC tournament champion Duke received No. 1 seeds. Washington was a surprise selection, sneaking past projected No. 1 seed Wake Forest with a win over Arizona in the Pac-10 title game. The Wildcats received a No. 3 seed.
