The No. 19 University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team enters the 2019 Big Ten tournament sporting a 14-6 conference record, which earned them the No. 4 seed.
After earning a two-round bye, the Badgers await the winner of the Maryland and Nebraska game Friday.
In the most recent national rankings, the Badgers sit at No. 15, one spot behind Louisiana State University and one spot ahead of Buffalo. As for the AP poll, Wisconsin is ranked No. 19 overall and is projected as either a fourth or fifth seed in this upcoming NCAA tournament.
Accompanying Wisconsin, Michigan State, Purdue and Michigan round out the top four seeds, therefore earning them a double-bye in the tournament.
Maryland is the fifth seed and likely the opponent Wisconsin will face Friday. But Maryland still has to go through Nebraska in a Big Ten conference where anything is possible.
Men’s basketball: Ethan Happ becomes first three-time All-Big Ten honoree in UW history
Iowa earned themselves the sixth seed in the tournament and await the winner of the second play-in game between No. 14 Northwestern and No. 11 Illinois.
Minnesota, Ohio State, Indiana and Penn State round out the rest of the tournament field as seeds seven through ten.
As for the Badgers, Khalil Iverson is playing some of the best basketball of his career, boasting back to back double-doubles in his last two games.
Iverson had 11 points and 11 rebounds against Iowa on senior night and then followed that up with a 22 point, 14 rebound outing against Ohio State in their final regular season game.
Iverson has scored double figures in five of the final six games of the season after only scoring double figures in two games all season leading up to that point.
This is the most crucial point of the season for a team to be playing their best basketball. If Iverson can keep these numbers up, he might be the X-factor heading down the stretch.
The Badgers have three scorers averaging in double figures this season: Ethan Happ, D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davison.
Men’s Basketball: Brevin Pritzl may be Wisconsin’s secret weapon this postseason
Davison is currently averaging 10.9 points per game and Trice is scoring 11.9 points per game. But Ethan Happ leads the way with 17.8 ppg, 10.4 rpg and 4.7 apg while earning himself first-team All-Big Ten honors.
As leading scorers, Wisconsin’s big three have been overshadowed as of late by some of the uplifting play from players like Iverson and Brevin Pritzl.
It will be crucial for the Badgers to continue scoring with their big three while still relying on depth going into the postseason.
The Badgers are averaging 69.6 points per game while holding their opponents to just 61.2 points each game which is second in the Big Ten.
All the games from Wednesday through Friday will be aired on the Big Ten Network. The semifinals Saturday and the championship game Sunday will be aired on CBS Sports.
Catch the Badgers’ first moments of March Friday at an estimated 2 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
