Marquette, Wisconsin lose in first games after making NCAA's top-16 teams
Marquette, Wisconsin lose in first games after making NCAA's top-16 teams originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The NCAA unveiled its Division I Men’s Basketball rankings for the first time on Saturday, and three of the teams in that ranking lost in their first outings following their selection.
Topping the list was No. 7 Marquette, who were throttled 81-53 by the UConn Huskies on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies took home the No. 2 slot in the rankings, earning the top-seed in the East Region according to the committee.
The Auburn Tigers, ranked as the No. 13 team in the country and the fourth-seeded team in the West Region according to the committee, also lost in their first outing since that announcement as they fell to Kentucky 70-59 in a home defeat.
Finally, Wisconsin continued their recent struggles as they coughed up a lead and lost 88-86 in overtime at Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday evening.
The Badgers were 16-4 with an 8-1 conference record after beating Michigan State on Jan. 26, but have since lost five of their last six games, including losses to lowly Michigan and Rutgers.
They also find themselves in danger of missing out on a double-bye in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, set to begin March 13 in Minneapolis. The top four seeds in the Big Ten receive two byes to start that tournament, and the Badgers are currently tied for third with Michigan State, with a half-game lead on Northwestern and a one-game lead over Nebraska for that spot.
Several teams had emphatic wins on Saturday after being named to the NCAA’s top-16, including Arizona, who throttled Arizona State by 45 points. Houston, the top-seed in the South Region, also won big, beating Texas by 21 points.
North Carolina, Tennessee, Duke, Iowa State, Baylor, Alabama and Illinois also won after being ranked in the top-16.
Purdue, the top-seeded team in the country according to the committee, will play at noon Sunday against Ohio State in a road clash.
Selection Sunday will take place on March 17, according to the committee. The First Four games will take place in Dayton, Ohio on March 19 and 20, with the first round of the men’s basketball tournament getting underway on March 21.
