Badgers Earn Top 5 Seed, Ready for NCAA Tourney

0:00On March 16th, the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team earned a number five seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament after a stunning turn around from a rocky start to the season. They'll face number 12 seed high point on Thursday in Portland, Oregon, with tip time and TV details coming later tonight. Earlier this season, the Badgers sat at number 64 in net rankings with zero quad-1 wins and no victories over top 75 teams. But they heated up with eight quad-1 triumphs, including five against AP top 15 opponents, four on the road, and grabbed a top five spot in the Big Ten standings. Coach Greg Gard calls his squad battle tested and ready for a deep run, praising their growth into one of the nation's best teams. In the recent Big Ten tournament, they knocked off Washington and number nine Illinois in overtime before a hard breaker to number three Michigan. Even while missing junior center Nolan Winter, who's set to return. Gard's John Blackwell and Nick Boyd stepped up big without Winter, averaging over 25 points each in those games, making Wisconsin a nightmare.

1:07Match up for most teams. The winner advances to face the victor of number four Arkansas and number 13 Hawaii on Saturday, with regional semis in San Jose, California. Under guard is the Badgers eighth tournament bid in 10 years, and they're aiming to reach the sweet 16 for the first time since 20, 17.