Bracketology Report: UW continues to hover in a favorable position

We are just four days away from the calendar turning to March and the Wisconsin Badgers men’s hoops team continues to sit in a favorable position not only in the bracket projections but in the Big Ten standings as Wisconsin controls their destiny as they try to bring home a Big Ten Title. The Badgers will square off with Purdue on Tuesday evening, and the winner of that game will be in sole possession of the first place in the conference.

Clearly, the Badgers are focused on the task ahead (Rutgers first), but we are continuing to look at where things project come March. With that, let’s dive into the latest Bracketology report. Starting with ESPN, Joe Lunardi has the Badgers projected as a 3-seed in his Friday morning update. They would take on the 14th seeded Montana State Bobcats. The winner of that contest would take on the winner of the 6/11 matchup between TCU and Arkansas. As it sits right now, Lunardi has projected the Badgers to play in Portland and not Milwaukee.

CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry Palm is in agreement in terms of seeding, but he projects the Badgers to be staying in the state of Wisconsin for the first two rounds. In his projections, the Badgers are a 3-seed taking on 14th seeded Vermont in Milwaukee. The winner of that contest would take on the 6/11 winner between Arkansas and SMU.

Our very own Bracketology site, Blogging the Bracket, also released a new update and has the Badgers in the same spot as CBS taking on the same opponent that Lunardi projects. In their latest bracket, the Badgers are once again a 3-seed in Milwaukee and are projected to take on 14th seeded Montana State.

The winner of that game would take on the winner of LSU/Loyola Chicago. All three of those teams would be an interesting matchup, especially for big Steven Crowl who has been dominating of late.

While the projections are all from different outlets it's clear that there are some trends in line with one another. First, it seems like the general consensus is that Wisconsin is firmly on the 3-seed line right now. Second, two of the three projects them to be in Milwaukee which is much more favorable than Portland. Third, Montana State and Arkansas are two teams closely projected to be around Wisconsin so they are certainly teams to keep an eye on as we turn the page to March here in a few days.

Of the three projections, I personally would prefer SB Nation’s bracket, as the Badgers would get a favorable round one matchup in Montana State. In the second round, I think drawing LSU or Loyola would be much more favorable than Arkansas at this point in time. Which bracket do you prefer? Let us know in the comments!