Wisconsin basketball: new Bracketology now that NBA Draft early entry deadline has passed

While we are still unsure when the NBA Draft is going to happen this year, the deadline for college players to enter their names as early entrants has come and gone. This is not the deadline for STAYING in the NBA Draft, so players like Luka Garza can still come back to school, but it is an important date to start to understand what teams’ rosters will look like next year.

The Wisconsin Badgers have had almost zero roster turnover since last year, only losing sharpshooter Brevin Pritzl from their rotation. They have added a six-man recruiting class, but none of those players should play huge roles in 2020. What does ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi think about the veteran laden Badgers squad and who might Wisconsin play in next year’s NCAA Tournament?

Lunardi has the Badgers remaining a 2-seed but does not have the winning the B1G’s automatic bid (that honor he bestows on fellow 2-seed, Michigan State). A first round matchup with 15-seed Siena should lead to a second round date with 7-seed UCLA...but a far more interesting outcome would be against, in-state rival, 10-seed Marquette.

Being in the same region as 1-seed Gonzaga, who could potentially be the overall best team in the country next year, is no picnic but it sure would be a fun Elite 8 game. There are no other B1G teams in the West Region, but a familiar foe in 5-seed Oregon is lurking in the top half of the bracket. Hopefully the Zags dispose of them.

The other B1G teams in the Big Dance are the aforementioned Spartans, 4-seeds Ohio State and Iowa, 6-seeds Rutgers and Michigan, 7-seeds Indiana and Purdue and 9-seed Illinois. With nine teams in, the B1G has the most of any conference. Minnesota is among the “first four out” and Penn State is in the “next four out” groupings, so it would appear that the B1G will be another meat grinder in 2020.