The University of Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team (26-9, 13-7 Big Ten) was awarded the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s East Regional during the March Madness bracket reveal on March 17.
The Badgers will meet the No. 14 seed Montana Grizzlies (25-9, 15-3 Big Sky) who won the Big Sky Conference Tournament to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
The game will tip off at 11:30 a.m. local time — 12:30 p.m. central time — in Denver March 20. The Badgers were a part of the last game to finish Sunday and will be one of the first teams to play in the NCAA Tournament, nearly 1,000 miles from campus.
The highest point of elevation on the UW campus is 1,005 feet, which could be problematic as the Badgers will play at Ball Arena, which stands 5,280 feet above sea level. The Grizzlies, who are used to playing at elevation, will hope the change slows down the Badgers’ prolific offense.
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The teams have met once before, also in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2012. The Badgers won 73-49 and will hope for similar success Thursday.
Montana has struggled with high-level competition this year. They played two power conference opponents in November, losing 79-48 to Oregon and 92-57 to Tennessee. While no team can be taken lightly in the tournament, if Wisconsin does not beat themselves with poor shooting they should have no trouble with Montana, who has struggled mightily against high-major teams.
Montana plays small, with their tallest player receiving regular minutes standing at 6-foot-8. But, they do shoot the 3-point shot well as a team. Two players shoot better than 40% from three, with two more just below that mark. As a team, they shoot 36%.
The Badgers will need to use their size and physicality to make things difficult on the Grizzlies, and run the Grizzlies off the 3-point line to avoid an upset.
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Defense is not a strong suit for Montana, who ranks 209th in the country in scoring defense. Thursday should be a good opportunity for the Badger offense to reestablish itself after an ugly shooting effort versus Michigan.
Should the Badgers advance, its two potential second-round opponents are stylistic opposites. The offensive-minded No. 6 seed BYU scores 81 points per game and shoots 37.4% as a team on 3-pointers. No. 11 seed VCU leans on its high-intensity defense to win games.
The Rams rank seventh in the tournament field in scoring defense, allowing just 62.4 ppg. BYU and VCU will play at 2:05 p.m. local time (3:05 p.m. central time) March 20. Both teams are beatable, but the Badgers need to get through Montana first.
Despite the Big Ten Tournament Championship loss, it appeared Wisconsin found their footing and will try to build on that in Denver. The team will get a few days to rest before they begin their tournament run, seeking a second weekend run for the first time since 2017.