As it turned out, Wisconsin’s Big Ten Tournament loss to Nebraska didn’t hurt them when it came to seeding in the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA selection committee gave the Badgers (20-12) the number-7 seed in the East Region and they’ll open play against No. 10 Pittsburgh (21-11) at 5:50 p.m. Friday in St. Louis on TNT.
Pittsburgh finished 9-9 in the Atlantic Coast Conference and lost to eventual tournament champion North Carolina, 88-71, in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament.
If the Badgers beat the Panthers on Friday, they would advance to play either No. 2 Xavier (27-5), or No. 15 Weber State (26-8).
The Badgers were thrown for a loop when Bo Ryan announced his retirement in mid-December. But the Badgers rebounded quickly under coach Greg Gard, who started as the interim coach before having that tag removed last week.
The Badgers must try to rebound from their Big Ten Tournament loss to the Cornhuskers, but Greg Gard said he’s not over-reacting to that loss and is ready to move on against Pittsburgh.
AUDIO: Greg Gard said he’s not over-reacting to the Nebraska defeat :20
AUDIO: Greg Gard said they weren’t sure in January this was attainable :13