Bracketology Report: Wisconsin basketball holds despite Monday’s loss

Wisconsin men’s basketball has had quite an up and down few days. On Christmas day, the Badgers went to East Lansing and took out Michigan State in a very impressive effort. It was their first win at the Breslin Center since 2004 which is quite monumental in my opinion. Days later the Badgers returned home to the Kohl Center and found themselves in a trap spot with a scrappy Maryland team.

Shots just did not fall for the Badgers in that game and seemingly everything fell for the Terps leading them to the upset. Folks, that is life in Big Ten basketball. It is a roller coaster of a season and we are just getting started.

Despite the loss, Wisconsin was able to hold strong in the latest Bracketology release from Joe Lunardi. As it sits right now the Badgers would be a 2-seed in the second region. They would take on the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara as the 15-seed. The winner of that game would take on the winner of 7-seed San Diego State and 10-seed Virginia Tech.

Traditionally, that would be the South region but this year the NCAA tournament will be played in the Indianapolis bubble, so they are deeming it region two. Baylor is the top seed in that region with the Badgers coming in as the two seed, Creighton as the three seed and Virginia as the four seed. Each of those seeds would create interesting matchups for Wisconsin, but the dream matchup has to be Virginia in the Sweet 16. Who wouldn’t want to watch a 43-38 slugfest in the Sweet 16 between those two squads?

Wisconsin isn’t the only Big Ten team taking aim at some of the top seeds in the tournament. In fact, nine Big Ten teams are in the latest release which leads the nation. Iowa currently sits as a 2-seed as well while Illinois follows right behind on the 3-seed line. Rutgers and Michigan both currently sit on the 4-seed line, while Michigan State (and DUKE LMAO) holds down a 5-seed spot. Ohio State and Indiana both sit on the 6-seed line while Purdue rounds out the conference in a 9-seed spot.

Joe Lundari may have had a few too many sips of something as the current Big Ten leaders in Northwestern are not on the bracket, nor is Minnesota who knocked off a strong St. Louis team, Iowa, and Michigan State in three consecutive games. I’ll have what he is having I suppose!

Overall, it's early but things are looking good for the Badgers despite the tough loss Monday evening. Being a two-seed after a loss means you’ve got a pretty strong resume overall. With many teams across the country dropping games left and right the picture is pretty unclear as to who some of the favorites for the Big Dance are outside of Gonzaga. As Jon Rothstein would say THIS IS ONLY DECEMBER. Buckle up kids, it’s going to be a fun one.