Badgers projected as the No. 4-seeded team in the East Region according to the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee

MADISON – The NCAA’s Tournament Selection Committee appears to respect Wisconsin more than the computers.

Greg Gard’s team was projected as the No. 4-seeded team in the East Region, the No. 13 team overall, Saturday when the committee revealed its top 16 teams.

The official seedings and full bracket are set to be revealed on March 13.

“The No. 4 seeds are led by Wisconsin,” Tom Burnett, the chairman of the committee, said during the CBS telecast. “Eight Quad 1 wins. Twelve overall in Quads 1 and 2.

“Edged by Illinois for that final spot on the three line due to a head-to-head Illinois win recently. Really strong on the road – 7-2 for the Badgers this year.”

If the Badgers wind up seeded No. 4 or higher they could open the tournament at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

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The No. 1-seeded teams were Gonzaga (West), Auburn (Midwest), Arizona (South) and Kansas (East).

The No. 2-seeded teams were defending champion Baylor (South), Kentucky (East), Purdue (Midwest) and Duke (West).

The No. 3-seeded teams were Villanova (East) Texas Tech (Midwest), Tennessee (South) and Illinois (West).

The No. 4-seeded teams were UW, UCLA (Midwest), Providence (South) and Texas (West).

The Badgers, the third-highest projected Big Ten team, entered Saturday with one of the more impressive résumés not only in their league but in the country.

They had eight Quad 1 victories, tied for the No. 2 mark nationally. A Quad 1 victory comes at home against a team ranked No. 1 through No. 30, a neutral-site victory over a team ranked No. 1 through No. 50 or a road victory over a team ranked No. 1 through No. 75.

UW was 4-1 in Quad 2 games. Those are home games against teams ranked No. 31 through No. 75, neutral-site games vs. teams ranked No. 51 through No. 100 and road games vs. teams ranked No. 76 through No. 135.

The Badgers are also 10-2 away from home, 7-2 in road games and 3-0 in neutral-site games. They entered the week with the sixth-toughest schedule according to ESPN.

UW (20-5, 11-4 Big Ten), which hosts Michigan (14-10, 8-6) at noon Sunday, is No. 20 in the NCAA Net Rankings. That would project to a No. 5 seeding in the tournament field.

Burnett noted the NET Rankings offer just one piece of information for the committee members.

“The NET has been a great sorting tool for the committee,” he said. “But it’s not the be-all-end-all for us.

“For me as a committee member and for others, I look at the NET as kind of a first step.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin is NCAA Tournament 4 seed in early top 16 projection