INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.–The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee did
not pave the easiest of roads for the Wisconsin Badgers (24-6), but
the journey will begin close to home. Tabbed the No. 6 seed in the
East Rutherford regional, the Badgers will face the Richmond
Spiders in the first round Friday, just down the road in Milwaukee.
The game will tip off at 6:20 CDT.

“It’s great for us, we’re
close to home,” guard Devin Harris said. “We’re
happy we’re going anywhere in the end to play in the NCAA
Tournament. I think we’ll get great fan [support], so it’s a
good thing for us.”

Despite a Big Ten Tournament championship and
a second-place regular season finish, UW drew just a six seed from
the committee. Illinois, who Wisconsin beat to claim the tournament
championship, earned a No. 5 seed in the Atlanta regional. Though
they may have been slightly disappointed, the Badgers are looking
forward to playing in front of their fans in Milwaukee.

“I expected a little higher, us
finishing second in the season and then winning the Big Ten
Tournament, then Illinois comes out and gets a fifth seed,”
guard Boo Wade said. “I think it’s going to work out to
our advantage, being a sixth seed and playing right at
home.”

Ranked No. 10 in both polls, Wisconsin finds
itself seeded behind No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Cincinnati, No. 13
Illinois, No. 14 Kansas, No. 15 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Wake Forest,
No. 17 North Carolina State, No. 19 Providence, No. 21 Maryland,
No. 24 Syracuse and unranked Florida.

“In this tournament, every team is so
even, so it’s hard to determine between all the top
teams,” forward Mike Wilkinson said. “We’re happy
to be going to Milwaukee and playing in the Bradley Center where
we’ve been before once or twice. Having the fans there is
going to be great. We’re happy to be there.”

The Badgers will have their work cut out for
them in a region that includes Saint Joseph’s, Oklahoma State
and Pittsburgh.

“We really have no control,” guard
Clayton Hanson said of the seeding. “We do what we can on the
court and luckily we get to play close to home, that’s a plus
for us. We’ll play wherever they put us, whoever they put us
against. We’ll play and we’ll be ready for
it.”

Also drawing No. 6 seeds were Boston College
(23-9), North Carolina (18-10) and Vanderbilt (21-9).

“I’m happy for the team, the fact
that they’re in the tournament,” Wisconsin head coach
Bo Ryan said. “They took care of business in the regular
season and now in the conference championship game, conference
tournament. I look at teams as a coach and I can’t see the
difference between three through eight to be honest with you. I
wouldn’t want to be in that room, I wouldn’t want to
make those decisions.”

For Milwaukee natives Harris, Wade and Freddie
Owens, the game with Richmond will provide the opportunity to play
in front of family and friends.

“I’m very excited. I’m going
home, right in Milwaukee,” Wade said. “My family is
going to be able to get out and see me play, so I think it is going
to be a great thing for us.”

The Richmond Spiders finished the 2003-04
season with a 20-12 mark, including wins over Xavier and Kansas.
Out of the Atlantic-10 Conference, the Spiders earned an at-large
bid. The two schools have not previously met.

“I don’t know anything about them,
but our staff will definitely have us prepared,” Hanson said.
“We’ll know a lot more than we’ll want to
probably.”

“I’ve seen very little
myself,” center Dave Mader said of Richmond.
“That’s the coaches’ job, I’m going to
leave that up to them.”

Should it defeat Richmond, Wisconsin would
have a Sunday date with the winner of Friday’s game between
Pittsburgh and Central Florida.

“We were happy just to be in the
tournament,” Mader said. “It was a great feeling and
we’re looking forward to playing Richmond. It’s going
to be a good game.”