Could the Wisconsin men's basketball team actually be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? That's where one sports writer has the Badgers.
The Wisconsin men's basketball team, picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten this season but tied atop the league standings heading into Wednesday's showdown with co-leader Illinois, already has exceeded expectations.
A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? That would be a whole new level of exceeding.
The Badgers (17-3) jumped to that top line in the weekly "Bracketology" projections by CBS Sports writer Jerry Palm, who gave the Badgers the edge over Kansas. Auburn, Gonzaga and Baylor joined UW on that top line, with Purdue, UCLA, Providence and the Jayhawks down to the No. 2 line.
Palm's bracket has Wisconsin facing Longwood in the first round (in Milwaukee) and then meeting No. 8 Iona or No. 9 Oklahoma in the second round. Marquette, by the way, is seeded seventh and pegged to meet No. 10 San Diego State in Indianapolis, with either No. 2 Purdue or No. 15 Arkansas State next.
It's a potentially controversial placement for the Badgers, a team that high-profile computer rankings don't regard as a top-five team in the country.
Through Monday's games, the NCAA's NET Rankings had Wisconsin at No. 21 (with Marquette at No. 28). The Pomeroy College Basketball Rankings (better known as Kenpom) has Wisconsin at 26 and Marquette at 29.
Still, Wisconsin had as many "quadrant 1" wins as anyone in the country with seven and has a 10-0 record in the other three quadrants.
Joe Lunardi of ESPN, who updated his own Bracketology offering Tuesday, has the Badgers as a No. 3 seed (also in Milwaukee), facing Oakland in the first round, with a chance to face No. 6 LSU or No. 11 San Diego State or Creighton in the next matchup.
Marquette, meanwhile, is listed as a No. 5 in Buffalo against No. 12 Iona, with No. 4 Tennessee or No. 13 Drake next up.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Could Wisconsin men's basketball get a No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament?
