Wisconsin basketball landed in the ‘First Four Out’ of ESPN analyst Joe Lunardi’s latest NCAA Tournament ‘bracketology’ on Tuesday.
After sitting in Lunardi’s ‘Last Four In’ group on Dec. 13, the Badgers now accompany Villanova, Boise State and Oklahoma in the ‘First Four Out.’ Greg Gard’s team saw a shift in its NCAA Tournament projection after its recent 30-point loss to Nebraska on Dec. 10.
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As of Dec. 16, Lunardi’s No. 1 seeds are Michigan (No. 1), Duke (No. 2), Arizona (No. 3) and Iowa State (No. 4). Purdue (No. 6), Michigan State (No. 9) and Illinois (No. 15) are positioned alongside Michigan as the other Big Ten members in Lunardi’s pool of teams currently positioned for a top-four seed.
With over a month of basketball under its belt, UW is 7-3 and 1-1 in Big Ten play. The organization’s most notable wins have arrived against Marquette, Providence and Northwestern. Looking forward, the Badgers’ toughest stretch of play begins on Jan. 3 against the No. 6 Purdue Boilermakers.
Wisconsin holds the No. 13 position in the Big Ten, but it did receive one vote in the most recent installation of the AP top 25 poll. Captained by transfer Nick Boyd, who is averaging 20.2 points per appearance off 48.3% shooting from the floor, the Badgers roster five players accountable for at least 7.3 points per game.
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UW’s next test is slated for Dec. 19 against the Villanova Wildcats at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Basketball Joe Lunardi NCAA Tournament Bracketology Update
