The Wisconsin Badgers are once again in danger of being eliminated early in the NCAA Tournament.
While Wisconsin performed well in the Big Ten Tournament, nearly beating No. 1 Michigan in the semifinals, Wisconsin must now face an extremely dangerous High Point team in the first round.
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Wisconsin earned the No. 5 seed, even though everyone knows how common 12/5 upsets are. High Point entered the tournament with 30 wins, but just settling for that number wasn’t enough.
Head coach Greg Gard has yet to lead the Badgers past the regional semifinals, and now seems like the perfect time to change that. Wisconsin has a pair of backs that are undoubtedly one of the best in the country, so now is the time to put them to the test.
Looking ahead to Thursday, here are three key takeaways from Wisconsin’s NCAA tournament draw.
1. High Point’s explosive offense
The Panthers have scored by triple digits multiple times this season, including a season-high 129 points against Mary Baldwin.
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While the level of play is nowhere near what the team performed in the NCAA Tournament, it only takes one hot night and the Badgers go cold and the Panthers will keep dancing.
2. Arkansas is a huge challenge
Not only did the selection committee have Wisconsin travel to Portland, Ore., for Thursday’s game, it also placed them in the same region as John Calipari.
Wisconsin’s history with the former Kentucky Wildcats coach is well-documented, and he could be the one holding them back from reaching the Sweet 16. Arkansas has won 26 games this year, but that’s only the third-highest mark in the top half of the region.
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3. No. 1 Arizona is scary, but No. 2 Purdue is not
The Boilermakers may have just beaten Michigan State, but there’s no guarantee Purdue will emerge from the bottom half of this group. If Wisconsin can survive potential challenges from High Point, Arkansas and Arizona, the bottom half could be wide open, which is exactly what the team needs.
At the end of the day, Wisconsin can only focus on the opponent in front of it, but it will be interesting to look at the rest of the region as there are plenty of big-name matchups that could come to fruition.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin Basketball NCAA Tournament Selection Highlights
