MADISON, Wis. – Off to its best record in five seasons, building one of the top resumes in the country in the process, No.15 Wisconsin got a glimpse into where the powerful NCAA Tournament selection committee views their profile. They should have liked what they saw.

The Badgers are viewed as the No.13 overall seed of the 16 revealed by the committee, the top No.4 seed, which put Wisconsin in the East Region. No.1 Kansas, No.2 Kentucky, and No.3 Villanova make up the other teams in the East, which would be played in Philadelphia.

The high seed also likely means the Badgers are in prime position to open tournament play at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, less than a 90-minute drive from its campus. The first-round game would be played on March 18.

In the four years that the selection committee has revealed the top 16 seeds one month before the actual tournament starts, no team that has been named in the first list has failed to make the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, the last four national champions have also been ranked by the committee – Baylor (No.2) in 2021, Virginia (3) in 2019, Villanova (2) in 2018 and North Carolina (5) in 2017.

Gonzaga was the No.1 overall seed and was paired with No.2 Duke, No.3 Illinois, and No.4 Texas in the West (San Francisco) region. No.1 Auburn, No.2 Purdue, No.3 Texas Tech, and No.4 UCLA were in the Midwest (Chicago) Region. No.1 Arizona, No.2 Baylor, No.3 Tennessee, and No.4 Providence in the South (San Antonio) Region.

Currently a half-game behind Purdue in the Big Ten standings, Wisconsin (20-5, 11-4 Big Ten) has played the sixth toughest schedule in the NCAA but has eight Quad 1 wins (second-most in the country). UW is 12-4 in the first two quadrants with its two best wins coming over No.4 Houston on a neutral court and at No.10 Purdue in early January. UW has 10 wins away from home this year, including 7-2 in true road games.

Wisconsin plays host to Michigan (14-10, 8-6) at the Kohl Center. Tip off is scheduled for noon on CBS, with the Badgers retiring Michael Finley’s No.24 jersey at halftime.

On Friday, Badgers head coach Greg Gard was one of 15 coaches named to the Naismith Coach of the Year Late Season Watch List.

The 2016 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year, Gard has guided Wisconsin to a 139-75 (.650) record in seven seasons, His 62.0 win percentage in Big Ten play (80-49) is the seventh-highest win percentage of any Big Ten coach of the last 40 years. Including a win at No. 3 Purdue this season, Gard has led UW to 9 top-10 wins, including 6 away from home (4 in true road games).

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