Badgers play in Milw., UWM in NY as NCAA Tourney kicks off
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Selection Sunday is the day NCAA Tournament brackets and seeds are released -- and Wisconsin sports fans were waiting to see who and where the UW-Milwaukee Panthers, and the UW Badgers will play in the tourney.
The first round of the NCAA Tournament occurs this Tuesday, March 18th and Wednesday, March 19th in Dayton, Ohio.
The second round occurs Thursday, March 20th and Saturday, March 22nd -- and the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee hosts some second round games.
We've learned the #2 Wisconsin Badgers will play #15 American in Milwaukee at the BMO Harris Bradley Center on Thursday. The game is set for 11:40 a.m.
Wisconsin got an at-large bid after losing 83-75 on Saturday to eventual Big Ten champion Michigan State.
The Badgers (26-7) come in having dropped two of their last three games. Frank Kaminsky leads Wisconsin with 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.
American (20-12) earned an automatic bid after winning the Patriot League tournament with a 55-36 victory against Boston University on Wednesday night.
The Eagles are led by Jesse Reed (13.9 points) and Tony Wroblicky (12.2 points, 7.3 rebounds). They are winless in two NCAA appearances.
The #15 UW-Milwaukee Panthers will play #2 Villanova in Buffalo, New York on Thursday. The game is set for 8:25 p.m.
Milwaukee (21-13) posted a 7-9 Horizon League record in the regular season but earned its first NCAA bid since 2007 by winning the Horizon tournament as the No. 5 seed. Milwaukee defeated Wright State 69-63 in the Horizon championship game to snap the Raiders' six-game winning streak.
Villanova (28-4) won the Big East regular-season title and set a school record with 28 regular-season victories.
A Villanova victory would set up a potential Saturday showdown with former Big East foe Connecticut (26-8) or local rival St. Joseph's (24-9). Villanova and St. Joseph's are both located in Philadelphia. Villanova beat St. Joe's 98-68 on Dec. 7.
Other teams coming to Milwaukee to play at the BMO Harris Bradley Center (on Thursday) are:
Last season the Oregon Ducks won the Pac-12 tournament to make the NCAA tournament. This year it wasn't quite as easy.
After slumping to start conference play, the Ducks (23-9) finished the regular season with seven straight wins, including a 64-57 victory over Arizona in the finale. They beat rival Oregon State to open the conference tournament before falling to UCLA in the semifinals
Earning the No. 7 seed in the West, Oregon heads to Milwaukee to face BYU on Thursday. As an automatic bid last season, the Ducks advanced all the way to the Sweet 16 before losing to Louisville.
The 10th-seeded Cougars (23-11) have also surged late, winning eight of their last 10 games.
But BYU was hurt in the West Coast Conference championship game when the team lost point guard Kyle Collinsworth to a knee injury. The Cougars lost 75-64 to Gonzaga.
Bracket leaders include: Florida (#1 in the south), Arizona (#1 in the west), Wichita State (#1 in the Midwest), Virginia (#1 in the east).
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