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How close is Wisconsin to making the NCAA Tournament with one week to go? Is Marquette a No. 2 seed?

JR Radcliffe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·4 min read
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Golden Eagles guard Tyler Kolek shoots against Georgetown at Capital One Arena. Kolek had 14 points and eight assists. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports
Golden Eagles guard Tyler Kolek shoots against Georgetown at Capital One Arena. Kolek had 14 points and eight assists. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The University of Wisconsin's tournament hopes are dangling by the thread, and it seems as though the Badgers will need multiple wins in the Big Ten Tournament to have a chance. Meanwhile, Marquette is ranked No. 6 in the nation, its highest spot since the 1970s.

Here's what bracket projections are saying in mid-February.

ESPN

Joe Lunardi had the Badgers in last week, but after splitting games against Purdue and Minnesota, Wisconsin is the second team listed on the "First Four Out." The last update came March 7.

The teams just ahead of UW? Mississippi State, Utah State, Rutgers and Nevada, with Oklahoma State as the "first team out."

Marquette, meanwhile, has a No. 3 seed and is paired against Kennesaw State, a team that recently sewed up an automatic qualifier spot by winning the Atlantic Sun for its first NCAA Tournament berth. The winner of that game in Des Moines would face either No. 6 seed Michigan State or a "First Four" winner ... no, our fascination in a potential UW-Marquette tournament matchup isn't dead.

CBS Sports

Jerry Palm is slightly kinder than Lunardi in a March 7 update, placing Wisconsin as the first team out of the field, ahead of Oklahoma State, North Carolina and Arizona State but behind Penn State, Mississippi State, Utah State and Michigan ... a team that beat UW thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Hunter Dickinson to force overtime.

In any event, it feels as though the Badgers might be one of those 50/50 at-large teams on Selection Sunday. And hey, remember that a First Four winner has won an additional NCAA Tournament game in 10 of 11 tournaments with the format in place, including UCLA to the Final Four in 2021.

Marquette keeps a No. 2 seed and matches up with No. 15 Vermont in Des Moines. A potential second-round battle between the winner of Iowa State and Memphis could be intriguing; Iowa State (coached by St. Thomas More alumnus T.J. Otzelberger) eliminated Wisconsin in the second round last year.

Feb 11, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Tyler Wahl (5) shoots over Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Derrick Walker (13) and forward Blaise Keita (15) in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe- USA TODAY Sports
Feb 11, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Wisconsin Badgers forward Tyler Wahl (5) shoots over Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Derrick Walker (13) and forward Blaise Keita (15) in the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steven Branscombe- USA TODAY Sports

Sporting News

Bill Bender's March 7 update nudges Wisconsin one spot higher ... to the last team in the field.

He'd have Wisconsin duking it out with Penn State, Mississippi State or Oklahoma State in the First Four. Perhaps the Cowboys and Badgers could rematch after UW got the best of Oklahoma State on the gridiron in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in December?

Marquette holds a No. 3 seed but is the top No. 3 seed in the draw.

BJ Freeman leads UW-Milwaukee in scoring at 16.3 points per game. The Panthers are tied for first place in the Horizon League entering the week.
BJ Freeman leads UW-Milwaukee in scoring at 16.3 points per game. The Panthers are tied for first place in the Horizon League entering the week.

Washington Post

Patrick Stevens has been bullish on Wisconsin and still has the Badgers in the field of 68. UW joins Utah State, Oklahoma State and Rutgers as the last four teams in the field.

Indeed, that Guaranteed Rate Bowl rematch would happen here, with the winner getting a No. 12 seed and facing San Diego State in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Marquette has the No. 3 seed and would face Furman, a team that just punched its ticket Monday night when it won the Southern Conference title. That game would take place in Columbus.

Bart Torvik

Madison native Bart Torvik's "T-Rank" site has risen up as a valuable metric in the college-basketball world.

His latest projections (March 7) see Wisconsin as the second team out of the field. Marquette, meanwhile, is a No. 3 seed.

Bracket Matrix

Bracket Matrix, which aggregates brackets from around the internet, sees Marquette as the top No. 3 seed, while Wisconsin is the first team out of the tournament.

Charlie Creme (women's tournament)

Creme, who writes for ESPN, has returned Marquette to the "last four byes" and given the Golden Eagles a No. 10 seed, with a first-round appointment against Florida State in Utah.

UW-Green Bay, imagined as the automatic representative of the Horizon League, is given a No. 13 seed and an opponent in Texas, with the game in Austin.

Marquette qualified for four straight tournaments (not counting the 2020 pandemic season, though that likely would have been a fifth) before reaching the third round of the WNIT last year.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Where are Marquette, Wisconsin and UWM in NCAA bracket projections?