Wisconsin Badgers will open vs. Colgate in NCAA men's basketball tournament Midwest Region at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee
The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team is seeded No. 3 in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and will open at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
UW will play No. 14 Colgate of the Patriot League.
Tipoff is set for 8:50 p.m. Friday. The game is to be televised by TBS.
The Badgers enter the tournament on a two-game losing streak following its exhilarating win over Purdue March 1 at the Kohl Center that gave Wisconsin a share of the Big Ten title. With a chance to win the outright title five days later, Wisconsin lost to Nebraska in the regular-season finale as Big Ten Player of the Year Johnny Davis was injured during the game.
Wisconsin, seeded No. 2 in the Big Ten tournament, was then quickly eliminated in the quarterfinals by No. 7 Michigan State, 69-63, Friday night.
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The Badgers are 24-7 and shared the Big Ten title with Illinois.
Last season Wisconsin was seeded No. 9 in the NCAA Tournament and defeated North Carolina in the first round. The Badgers lost to eventual national champion, Baylor, in the second round.
Badgers' NCAA Tournament résumé
The Badgers entered this season unranked in top 25 polls and were predicted to finish 10th in the Big Ten.
But with Davis establishing himself as a national player of the year candidate and Brad Davison leading the way as a fifth-year senior, the Badgers quickly proved to be contenders this season with key wins along the way.
They posted a 3-0 mark against the teams that reached the Big Ten title game — 2-0 vs. Purdue and 1-0 vs. Iowa. The Badgers' Maui Invitational championship in late November also generated wins over two teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Wisconsin has NCAA Tournament history in Milwaukee
The last time the Badgers played in Milwaukee in the NCAA Tournament they advanced to the Final Four in 2014.
That tournament run was best known for the riveting second-round win over Oregon witnessed by a frenzied crowd at the Bradley Center.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin basketball to open NCAA Tournament vs. Colgate in Milwaukee
