[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]From somewhere deep in the heart of the Kohl Center, you can hear Van Halen's "Right Now" resonating through the arena.

The Badgers' intermediate goals went unachieved. Despite an eight-point lead in the WCHA standings in January, they settled for a second-place tie at the end of the year. They stumbled Friday afternoon against North Dakota and lost out on their chance to win the league's tournament and Broadmoor Trophy.

But that is now all in the past.

The field was set for the NCAA tournament Sunday morning and the Badgers not only grabbed the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Regional, but, thanks to Saturday's victory over Minnesota, also snagged the top seed overall.

Wisconsin will take on the fourth seed in the region and the No. 16 seed in the tournament overall — Bemidji State — at 1:30 p.m. at the Resch Center in Ashwaubenon, Wis. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

"We take time to look back at where we've been and what we've been through. To bring this team back to the No. 1 overall in the country is pretty special," senior captain Adam Burish said at a press conference Sunday. "From our freshman year to now, being one of the worst teams to being the top team in the tournament is pretty special for us."

There is no doubt how far the Wisconsin program has come over the past four years. Four years ago, in UW head coach Mike Eaves' first year and Burish's freshman campaign, the Badgers were 10 games below .500.

One year later, they found themselves in the NCAA tournament and won their first-round game. Then, last season, they made their way back to the Dance, only to bow out early.

"My sophomore year, it was just an exciting feeling to go to NCAA. It was the first time for anybody on our team," Burish said. "Last year, it was … an unsure feeling. We [didn't] know what was going to happen.

"This year, it's a feeling of we're excited … we're confident. We're going to go there and try to make some noise."

The progress that the program has made in recent years is undeniable, but what may be more debatable is just how much noise Wisconsin has to make in this year's tournament to call it a success.

The Badgers opened the year on an astounding 18-2-2 run, the third-straight season they have exceeded expectations to open a year. But for the third-straight season — though each of them for different reasons — they struggled in the second half of the season and are left with something to prove.

"Throughout the last half of the year here, people have been unsure about … what this team is going to do," Burish said. "Nobody is satisfied being a No. 1 seed. Being a No. 1 seed is great and that's nice and it looks good for the program, but ultimately, to get your program where you want to be, you want to win a national championship."

Burish knows that his team needs, at the very least, to make a Frozen Four appearance in Milwaukee.

"It's going to take more than just being in Green Bay," he said. "Being a one seed is not the ultimate goal of this team or this program."

Eaves stands up for seniors: While the previous comments by UW's captain ring true, it was what Eaves tacked on to Burish's answer — and the tone used — that became a highlight of Sunday's press conference.

While everybody, including Eaves, recognizes that Wisconsin needs to have a good showing in the NCAA tournament, he wasted no time in backing the legitimacy of his seniors — in fact, he was not even asked to.

"I'll add on that … does this team need to win to validate itself?" Eaves asked. "This team wants nothing more than to win this note on top of the mountain. But whether or not that happens, they have validated themselves as student-athletes here. They've taken this program in the direction that, when they leave, they can hold their heads up so high."

While they were not recruited by Eaves, this year's five seniors have played a vital role in turning the program around, and he is not shy about acknowledging their efforts.

"It would be wonderful to stick that flag in the top of the mountain and say that we are national [champions]," Eaves said. "But that doesn't validate them as people, as student-athletes. They've done a terrific job representing this school. I think we have to be careful in what we say … validate[s] this program, because there are many facets."

The seniors will try to close out their careers on a high note in the NCAA tournament, starting Saturday afternoon.