The Wisconsin Badgers have claimed the number one seed in the Big Ten Tournament this coming weekend. Wait, yes, you read that correctly. The same team that was 6-6 in the conference just eight games ago, started the year 5-5 with losses to two mid-majors, and had their second-leading scorer abruptly leave the program in the middle of the year. Yes, that Badgers team used an eight-game conference winning streak to claim the number one seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
Wisconsin claimed one of the four precious double-byes thanks to results yesterday and their win at Indiana. After Illinois claimed the final double-bye in the last game of the Big Ten regular season, the bracket was set.
The Badgers get the luxury of waiting until Friday to play in the quarterfinals, which in a tournament this unpredictable feels like an extremely significant advantage. UW gets the winner of Michigan and Rutgers, two teams firmly in the NCAA tournament picture. Wisconsin split the season series with Rutgers, with each team winning on their home floor, and beat Michigan on the road in their only meeting. Outside of Nebraska and Northwestern (but you never know), you get the feeling that literally anybody and everybody has a chance to win multiple games. The most unpredictable aspect of the format in Indianapolis is the location. Basically the only factor we could use all season to predict Big Ten results was whether or not a team was playing at home. Take Wisconsin’s two potential quarterfinal opponents as a test case. Michigan and Rutgers were a combined 29-6 this season at home, with Rutgers notably going 18-1 at the RAC. The two programs combined to go 6-15 in true road games. On a neutral floor, there is a ton we could learn about this conference in just a few short days.
Another major positive about claiming the 1-seed is that Wisconsin would get to avoid the co-hottest team in the conference, Michigan State, until a potential championship matchup. Nobody wants to see Tom Izzo and Cassius Winston in March, and Sparty has cruised to five wins in a row, including a road win at Maryland.
In terms of NCAA tournament seeding, the Badgers seem to be firmly on the 4-line as they enter Indy. Well there is obviously no way to completely predict how the bracket will shape up behind closed doors, you would have to think that if the Badgers win their Friday game, the 4-seed would be their most likely line. If Wisconsin were to go on and win the tournament? A team that three weeks ago was being discussed as at best a 7-seed could end up as a 3. This Big Ten Tournament is going to be unpredictably wild. At least 10 NCAA Tournament teams battling it out on a neutral floor makes for serious madness. This is what March is all about.