Last week we should have had four sweet days of college basketball, but ya know, the pandemic happened. It stinks, but it’s for the best. No, we won’t crown a champion by the NCAA tournament’s standard, but that doesn’t mean we can’t vote on one anyway. Many media outlets have crowned a champion, but to me the only one that matters is ESPN’s FPI Bracket in which the Badgers were crowned, and this one.
Yes, we here at SB Nation have decided to crown a champion ourselves, and we want your help deciding on who! If you haven’t already, sign up for FanPulse here to get an email whenever voting opens up. Rounds one and two have already come and passed, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get in on the action to help the Badgers and your other favorite squads advance. Sweet 16 voting is now open, so don’t delay!
In the SB Nation bracket, Wisconsin was able to secure a four seed in the Midwest Region. Their first round draw was a scrappy squad out of the WAC conference in New Mexico State. Last season the Aggies narrowly missed upsetting Auburn, and this season they we’re unable to upset the Badgers as Wisconsin fans came through getting UW a robust 84% of the vote. That means the Badgers advanced to the second round.
March Madness would have started today. So we made our own men’s bracket anyway. pic.twitter.com/vHesc0Xv5t
— SB Nation (@SBNation) March 19, 2020
In the second round the Badgers took on the Butler Bulldogs who knocked off Stephen F. Austin in the round of 64. The winner of that contest will take on the winner of the 1/9 match up between the Baylor Bears and Arizona State Sun Devils.
Wisconsin was able to sneak by Butler by a vote percentage total of 54-46 and will be moving on to face the 1-seeded Bears in the Sweet 16!
Overall, chalk held form in the voting for most of the bracket as the top 8 seeds all advanced in the South Region. In the Midwest and East regions there were only two upsets, the 9-seeds, as Florida and previously mentioned Arizona State advanced. Out West there were a few upsets as 9-seed Oklahoma advanced, as did 11-seed Marquette, and 10-seed Texas Tech over LSU.
If you look at the Sweet 16 bracket it is literally...the top-16 teams in the tournament. So, keep that in mind when you get the email about voting and are like “I’ll do it later” and then your forget and Wisconsin loses to Baylor. SMH.
Sweet 16 voting is now open to fans, so make sure to sign up for FanPulse and get in on the action to help the Badgers advance. It’s simple, the more votes, the further you advance. I know Bucky’s 5th Quarter has a strong following, and a group of passionate fans, so let’s make sure we prove ESPN’s FPI right and crown the Badgers champions once again!