We are getting closer and closer to February which means conference basketball tilts are in full swing and the race for March continues to heat up. As we head into a new month Wisconsin has put together a really strong January going 5-1 over the month with two contests left to try and close it out with a pair of wins.
Unfortunately for Wisconsin, their most recent outing was a tough loss to Michigan State, which in turn led them to fall in the latest bracketology projection. According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Badgers would still be a 3-seed, but they have fallen to a different region of the bracket.
In the latest release, Lunardi has the Badgers as a 3-seed taking on 14-seed Wagner. The winner of that contest would take on the winner of the 6/11 matchup between UConn and West Virginia. These games would be played in Buffalo, New York which would be a tough blow for the Badgers after being projected to play in Milwaukee in each of the last couple projections.
Most teams will just be happy to be in the dance, but location certainly can play a big role in a team's path. Getting two games in Milwaukee would be much better than two games in Buffalo for obvious reasons. Despite the location, Wisconsin still sits in a good spot with many opportunities to move up with quality opponents all over the schedule. The Badgers will look to get back to winning ways on Thursday when they take on Nebraska.
Schedule Update pic.twitter.com/nZsmDnHqGe
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) January 22, 2022
As for the rest of the conference, Purdue still leads the way for the Big Ten sitting as a 2-seed in the latest bracket. Michigan State is now listed as a 3-seed after their win over the Badgers last weekend. Beyond that, the Badgers are of course on the 3-seed line followed by both Illinois and Ohio State on the 5-seed line. Rounding out the conference is Iowa which is listed as a 7-seed and Indiana is listed as an 8-seed. Currently, Michigan is on the bubble and is listed as one of the first four out.
The Big Ten currently has seven seeds projected in the tournament, which would be tied for second-most among conferences (Big East). As it sits right now the Big 12 leads all conferences with siehgt of their ten teams projected to be in. Beyond that, the SEC is projected to have six teams, including the top overall seed in the Auburn Tigers.