By: Marques Eversoll
If you’re a Wisconsin Badgers fan, you were probably pretty upset 11 years ago. Wisconsin had just defeated No. 12 Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament Championship; the Badgers finished 24-6 and checked in at No. 10 in the final AP poll.
Their reward? A No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Even if the Badgers would have lost their first game in the Big Ten tournament, rather than going on a three-game run over Minnesota, Michigan State and Illinois, it would have been hard to imagine Wisconsin getting slapped with anything worse than a six seed.
Things may be a little different this season with so much uncertainty after undefeated Kentucky. Top-seed contenders Wisconsin, Duke, Virginia, Villanova and Arizona had plenty to play for in their respective conference tournaments. Duke and Virginia lost in the ACC semifinals, making it unlikely that the two ACC teams would be on the top line for the Big Dance. Wisconsin, on the other hand, has punched its ticket to the Big Ten championship Sunday against the Michigan State Spartans.
Whether the Badgers end up as a No. 1 seed in the West or a No. 2 seed in another region, the decision will likely be made final tonight – not tomorrow after they take on Michigan State.
Bucky and Sparty square off at 2:30 PM Sunday afternoon; the CBS Selection Show begins at 5:00 PM. What happens if the Big Ten Championship goes to overtime? CBS unveils the West bracket while Bo Ryan draws up a play for Sam Dekker? Most – if not all – of the bracket will be written in ink well before the Big Ten title game.
In my opinion, today’s convincing win over Purdue should solidfy Wisconsin as a No. 1 seed. With likely Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky in the lineup, the Badgers had two losses: vs. Duke and at Maryland. Duke will be a one or two seed, while Maryland will be on the two or three line.
My top four teams are Kentucky, Duke, Wisconsin and Arizona – if it was a one-man selection committee and up to me, those four would be my No. 1 seeds. But I use the Eye Test. The committee complicates things, so we’ll probably be looking at Kentucky, Wisconsin, Villanova and either Duke or Virginia.
Watching Bo Ryan beat Tom Izzo will never get old for Wisconsin fans, so Sunday’s showdown will surely be a rollercoaster. But past history suggests Bucky’s fate – for better or worse – will be decided before the Big Ten actually crowns its champion.
Marques Eversoll is on-air on SportsLine every weekday afternoon from 4:00-6:00 PM on The Fan, and he hosts the Saturday Morning Showcase every weekend 8:00-10:00 AM. Follow him on Twitter @MarquesEversoll.
