Tag: seed

Where Wisconsin basketball lands in first USA TODAY bracketology of 2024-25 season

Where Wisconsin lands in first USA TODAY Bracketology of 2024-25 season

Wisconsin basketball is in a strong position to make the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season and fifth time in six opportunities.

The team sits at 15-4 (5-3 Big Ten) overall, led by an 11-0 record against Quad 2, 3 and 4 opponents. It currently sits No. 21 in KenPom, No. 24 in the ESPN BPI and No. 22 in the NCAA NET Rankings. Those marks all suggest even better results to come.

Related: Updated game-by-game predictions for Wisconsin basketball after UCLA loss

The Badgers’ resume includes wins over Arizona (KenPom No. 17), Pittsburgh (No. 33) and Ohio State (No. 29). Their losses have come against Michigan (No. 12), Illinois (No. 11), Marquette (No. 13) and UCLA (No. 30).

A continuation of the team’s current pace, mixed in with another few signature wins, could result in a top-five seed in March’s NCAA Tournament bracket. Wisconsin is just outside that range, according to USA TODAY’s first bracketology of the 2024-25 season.

The Badgers are a No. 6 seed in the Midwest region. They are opposed by No. 11 seed UC Irvine (Big West Conference).

Nine Big Ten teams make the projected field. That is the second most of any conference, behind the SEC’s 13. The top Big Ten teams are Michigan State (No. 2 seed), Oregon (No. 3 seed), Purdue (No. 4 seed), Illinois (No. 4 seed), Michigan (No. 5 seed) and Wisconsin (No. 6 seed).

The Badgers have plenty of resume-building opportunities left on their schedule. The team has Quad 1 games remaining against Maryland (Jan. 29), Northwestern (Feb. 1), Iowa (Feb. 8), Purdue (Feb. 15), Illinois (Feb. 18), Oregon (Feb. 22) and Michigan State (March 2). Those contests will prove critical to the team’s quest for its first top-three seed since 2022.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion

NEW: Duke awaits the winner of Wisconsin vs. James Madison

NEW: Duke awaits the winner of Wisconsin vs. James Madison

The No. 4-seed Duke Blue Devils will play the winner of No. 5-seed Wisconsin vs. No. 12-seed James Madison.

The Blue Devils just closed out a 64-47 win over No. 13-seed Vermont. The game was tight throughout, but Jon Scheyer’s team went on a big run late to shut the door on Vermont’s upset bid.

Related: Pewaukee, Wisconsin’s Jack Gohlke becomes viral sensation with NCAA Tournament performance vs. Kentucky

Wisconsin obviously has big-time NCAA Tournament history against Duke — the Blue Devils narrowly defeated the Badgers in the 2015 national championship game.

Greg Gard’s team would welcome a rematch of that contest with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line.

Zooming out a bit, the South Region opened up a bit with big upsets in the round of 64. Top-ranked Houston and Duke still remain on Wisconsin’s side of the bracket, but Marquette’s Elite 8 path is wide open with No. 10-seed Colorado, No. 11-seed NC State and No. 14-seed Oakland the only competition.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers vs. James Madison Dukes: Preview and prediction for NCAA Tournament round of 64

None of this discussion is important if Wisconsin can’t handle business against James Madison in its round of 64 contest. The Badgers enter having played their best basketball of the season last week at the Big Ten Tournament, but needing a strong performance to beat a 31-3 James Madison team.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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Updated: Michigan State basketball’s Big Ten Tournament seeding scenarios heading into Sunday

Updated Big Ten Tournament seeding scenarios for Michigan State heading into Sunday:

There is just one day left in the regular season across college basketball, as the postseason is set to start and seriously ramp up. Sunday’s slate of regular season games will shape the remaining undecided conference tournament seedings.

For the Big Ten, there is still 64 possible scenarios that the seeding can play out for the Big Ten Tournament, but for MSU, the scenarios are quite simple.

To get the 6-seed: Michigan State needs to beat Indiana and Illinois beats Iowa.

To get the 7-seed: Michigan State needs to beat Indiana and Iowa beats Illinois.

To get the 8-seed: Michigan State loses to Indiana.

So quite simply for the Spartans, beating Indiana will lock them into the 6 or 7-seed in the Big Ten Tournament and losing to Indiana will lock them into 8-seed.

Check out all of the possible Big Ten Tournament scenarios via X:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

Alabama earns top overall seed in 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament

The Alabama Crimson Tide men’s basketball team enters March Madness as the top overall seed.

Alabama men’s basketball has earned the top overall seed in the 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament after an impressive season that has netted the program an SEC regular season championship and an SEC Tournament title.

Nate Oats has continued to improve the program throughout his time in Tuscaloosa, and the 2022-2023 season has been his best yet. Now, the Crimson Tide will have its eyes set on one goal: winning a national championship.

Two seasons ago, Alabama won the SEC regular season and tournament, as the team has done this season, and made it all the way to the Sweet 16, but lost in overtime to UCLA.

According to the recently-revealed bracket, Alabama will play the winner of Southeast Missouri State and Texas A&M-CC.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball as March Madness begins and the NCAA Tournament gets underway.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.

Joe Lunardi projects Alabama to be top overall seed in NCAA MBB Tournament

The Crimson Tide is projected to be the highest-ranked seed in the entire tournament.

Alabama men’s basketball has impressed the nation with a 25-4 overall record and a 15-1 record against in-conference opponents. With only two games remaining, the Crimson Tide can win out and likely take the top overall seed in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament.

According to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, Nate Oats and his team are the best team in the nation and would earn the No. 1 overall seed if the tournament were to start today.

Auburn will visit Tuscaloosa for a mid-week matchup and then the Crimson Tide will take on Texas A&M on the road to close out the regular season.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball as the 2022-2023 regular season winds down.

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Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on Twitter @SpurrFM.

Saints eliminated from playoff contention after Rams lose to 49ers

The Saints left with a win against Atlanta, but got no help from the Rams, whose loss to the 49ers eliminated them from playoff contention:

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Well that’s disappointing. The New Orleans Saints took care of their business against the Atlanta Falcons, beating their little-brother rivals by a couple of scores (a 30-20 victory, to be clear), but they didn’t get any help from the drama queens out west.

It wasn’t enough to crush the Falcons. The Saints needed a Los Angeles Rams win over the San Francisco 49ers to qualify for the playoffs. And L.A. responded by blowing a 17-point lead and allowing the 49ers to take them to overtime. Matthew Stafford sealed it with an interception in their 27-24 loss.

You know, it was kind of on-brand for the Saints this year. They did enough to win and still lost due to factors outside their control — injuries, COVID-19 outbreaks, and another team’s shortcomings in tiebreaking procedures.

We don’t know for sure yet where the Saints will pick in the 2022 NFL draft (it could be as high as 16th, depending on which teams qualify for the AFC bracket). But that’s obviously not as pressing a concern. The fact that the Saints were able to end their season with a winning record and a comfortable victory over their oldest rival is impressive in its own right. Let’s see where they go next.

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Gators men’s basketball a No. 6 seed in latest ESPN bracketology

In the latest update from ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi to his 2021 NCAA Tournament predictions, the Gators were picked as a No. 6 seed.

In the latest update from ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi to his 2021 NCAA Tournament predictions, the Gators were picked as a No. 6 seed.

Lunardi placed Florida in the West Region, where Gonzaga is the No. 1 seed, set to play the first and second rounds in Dallas. Its projected first-round opponent is the victor of a play-in game between No. 11 seeds Clemson and Seton Hall. If coach Mike White’s team were to survive the first game, it would likely play No. 3 seed Texas Tech in the second round. With this bracket, the Gators could also draw Kentucky in the Elite Eight.

UF is one of seven SEC teams predicted by Lunardi to make the tournament, the third-most represented conference behind the Big 10 and ACC, which are each projected to put nine teams into the tournament. The other SEC teams slotted by Lunardi to make the big dance are No. 4 Kentucky, No. 4 Tennessee, No. 8 Alabama, No. 8 Arkansas, No. 8 LSU and No. 10 Ole Miss.

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