Wisconsin Basketball: Bracketology Projections 2.0

February is here, which is when teams really start to play their way in to, or out of, the March Madness picture. Do the experts still have the Wisconsin Basketball team in the tournament, or have recent events caused some to change their mind?

It’s been just over two weeks since our last bracketology roundup, and even in that short amount of time the Wisconsin Basketball team has made plenty of news. Some of it has been about the team’s play on the court, and some has been about things that have taken place off of it.

The Badgers went 2-3 in their last five games with three of the games being against ranked opponents. It started with a road loss at Michigan State followed by a home win against Nebraska. Next was a humbling loss at Purdue and then a blown lead at Iowa that was capped by the announcement of Kobe King with his intent to transfer.

The King news combined with a one-game suspension for Brad Davison made the Badgers’ home win over Michigan State last Saturday all the more impressive. That win places Wisconsin 7th in the Big Ten with a 6-5 record in conference play and gives them a 13-9 record overall. They now have four wins over ranked opponents on the year and gave them their sixth Quad 1 win, tied for fourth most in the country.

Though they remain unranked in the AP and Coaches polls, does all of the above combined with a 32 NET ranking still lead most experts to believe that the Badgers belong in the NCAA tournament this spring? Let’s take a look.

Lukas Harkins – Busting Brackets

Our friends over at Busting Brackets have the Badgers projected as a No. 8 seed out of the South Region and matching up against No. 9 Arkansas. The Razorbacks are tied for 7th in the SEC with a 4-4 record and have just five losses on the season, but like the Badgers, they have lost three of their last five. This is one of a few sites that hasn’t updated since before Wisconsin’s win over Michigan State last weekend, so this seed could improve soon.

Joe Lunardi – ESPN

Lunardi also has the Badgers as a No. 8 seed, but out of the East Region and playing No. 9 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are tied for fourth in the Big 12 with a 4-4 record in conference play and a 13-8 record overall. They have lost three of their last four games with two of the losses coming to ranked teams, though the one win was a good one – at home against 12th ranked West Virginia.

Jerry Palm – CBS Sports

Palm drops Wisconsin a little bit, placing them as a No. 9 seed in the Midwest Region against No. 8 Wichita State, even having updated projections since the recent Badger win. The Shockers are 5-3 in the American Athletic Conference, tying them for fifth, and have lost three of five after reeling off nine straight wins.

Dave Ommen – NBC Sports

Ommen’s bracket almost perfectly mirrors the Busting Brackets prediction, projecting the Badgers as a No. 8 seed playing No. 9 Arkansas. The only difference comes in the region with the two teams coming out of the East instead of the South.

Andy Katz – NCAA.com

Another bracket, another matchup of Badgers versus Razorbacks. However, Katz gives Wisconsin a little more credit than other projectors. He has them as a No. 7 seed out of the South with Arkansas as a No. 10 seed. Interestingly, Katz has four total Big Ten teams in this region, as well as in-state rival Marquette.

Tim Krueger – Stadium

Krueger is also higher on the Badgers, putting them on the same line as Katz with a No. 7 seed in the South. His matchup for them, however, is No. 10 Oklahoma. The Sooners are tied with the aforementioned Red Raiders for fourth in the Big 12, but have a bit better overall record of 14-7. They have won three of five and narrowly missed upsetting No. 1-ranked Baylor recently, losing by just four.

Team Rankings

As mentioned in our last bracketology update, this site does things a little differently and uses a formula to project seeding and final record. They actually have the Badgers projected as a No. 11 seed, which would pit them against potential No. 6 seeds Butler, Wichita State, Northern Iowa, or Houston.

Team Rankings also has Wisconsin projected to finish with a 18-13 record, meaning the Badgers would have to lose four of their final nine games. That seems unlikely considering what the rest of their schedule looks like, but considering how their season has gone so far, anything is possible.