Bracket projections close to unanimous on seeds for Marquette, Wisconsin

The brackets may change, but most NCAA men's basketball bracket projections agree on which seed lines to bestow Marquette and Wisconsin.

It's virtually unanimous to find Marquette as a No. 2 seed in the scenarios whipped up by national prognosticators, and most are settled on Wisconsin as a No. 5 seed, as well. Here's what those writers have to say:

Jerry Palm of CBS: Wisconsin up to a 5 seed

Wisconsin is still clinging to a No. 5 seed in this bracket, matched up with No. 12 South Florida in Pittsburgh. The Bulls are 21-5 overall and have opened up a three-game lead in the American Athletic Conference, a league that includes returning national semifinalist Florida Atlantic. The Bulls may cause confusion for Wisconsin sports fans when guard Jayden Reed (team lead in assists and steals) marches out onto the floor. No relation, of course, to the Green Bay Packers receiver.

Palm, meanwhile, has Marquette stationed still as a No. 2 seed against Colgate, a team that Wisconsin faced in the 2022 NCAA Tournament the last time the Badgers were in the field. The Raiders lost to American on Sunday, but they still have a sturdy lead in the Patriot League. Marquette would meet Colgate in Indianapolis in this scenario.

In the Horizon League, Palm picks Oakland and gives the Grizzlies a No. 14 seed. That's going to be a recurring theme; everyone on this list (for now) puts the Grizzlies in the dance. That's a spot that could be occupied by UW-Green Bay (or even UW-Milwaukee) after the Horizon League tournament.

Joe Lunardi of ESPN: Marquette in Indianapolis

Going hand-in-hand with the No. 2 seed often bestowed Marquette is the geographic favoritism of playing in the Midwest, so most projections have MU playing in Indianapolis.

Wisconsin also has a No. 5 seed here, playing McNeese State in Brooklyn. The Cowboys just snuck past Lamar on Monday and moved to 25-3 overall, with a comfortable three-game lead in the Southland Conference standings. McNeese is led by Shahada Wells and his 17.1 points and 4.7 assists per game, along with 2.9 steals.

Marquette again has a No. 2 seed and is slated to play in Indianapolis against Sam Houston, though the Bearkats are tied for first in Conference USA with Louisiana Tech at 10-3 and 17-11 overall.

Oakland also gets the No. 14 seed in this scenario, squaring off with third-seeded Iowa State — and Wisconsin native T.J. Otzelberger as Cyclones head coach).

USA TODAY: Marquette against Colgate yet again

Get used to the idea of Marquette facing Colgate, what's sure to be a big battle for MU's highly regarded School of Dentistry.

Here's another projection that has the Golden Eagles at No. 2 against the 15th-seeded Raiders from the Patriot League.

USA TODAY also has Oakland as the 14th seed against Iowa State, this time in Omaha. And Wisconsin is No. 5, challenging No. 12 Grand Canyon in Spokane, Washington.

The Antelopes have a tenuous half-game lead in the Western Athletic Conference, owning a 14-3 mark and 24-4 overall. They're lead by Tyon Grant-Foster, who averages 19 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game (as a 6-7 guard). The team is coached by March Madness hero Bryce Drew, who led the squad to last year's first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Washington Post's Patrick Stevens: Wisconsin still a top-four seed?

There's a few tweaks here, but Marquette as a No. 2 seed in Indianapolis is not one of them. This time, though, the Golden Eagles are pitted against the 15th-seeded Golden Grizzlies. We're still holding out hope for the all-Wisconsin battle in which UW-Green Bay or UW-Milwaukee wins the Horizon and matches up with Marquette, but this may be the closest we get.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, gets the No. 4 seed in this scenario in Spokane, facing off with Samford of the SoCon. The Bulldogs are 25-4 overall and are led by 6-9 big man Achor Achor, with 15 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game.

Two more that have Marquette at No. 2 and Wisconsin at No. 5:

Sporting News writer Bill Bender and Fox Sports both offer a projection of seeds (not matchups), with MU at No. 2 and UW at No. 5.

Bleacher Report: UW vs. the Spiders

Kerry Miller has Wisconsin at No. 5 in Brooklyn against Richmond and Marquette in Indianapolis at No. 2, facing off with Morehead State, with Oakland at No. 14 against Duke.

Morehead State has a claim to first place in the Ohio Valley but is coming off back-to-back losses and is now tied with UT-Martin and Little Rock.

Richmond, led by 18.8 points by Jordan King, sits in first in the Atlantic-10.

Women's tournament according to ESPN: Green Bay trying to keep its foothold

Charlie Creme has the Green Bay women as one of the "last four byes," putting them precariously close to needing a play-in battle to reach the main part of the bracket.

Green Bay is tied for first in the Horizon with Cleveland State, and the "last four byes" standing implies an at-large berth for UWGB; the program would avoid any sort of play-in game were it to win the Horizon League tournament.

For now, the 10th-seeded Phoenix are slated to face No. 7 Ole Miss in Los Angeles.

Marquette, meanwhile, is seeded at No. 9 and would face No. 8 Alabama in Austin, with top-seeded Texas getting the winner.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bracket projections close to unanimous on seeds for Marquette, UW