It’s Tourney Time! » Brats & Beer

March 7, 2006
posted under: Badgers basketball, Big 12 tournament, Big East tournament, Big Ten tournament, Iowa State basketball, Marquette

Enough fooling around with regular season conference games, it’s time to get serious. The Big 12 and Big 10 tournaments get started this week and I’m looking for good things from both my Cyclones and my Badgers. Okay, neither team was looking real sharp coming down the stretch, but a guy can still have hope. Iowa State comes into their tournament as the #10 seed after losing to Colorado 82-84 this past Saturday to close out their season with a 16-13 overall mark and a 6-10 conference record. They play Oklahoma State (16-14, 6-10 Big 12) in the first round, a team they beat 68-52 just a couple weeks ago, so I’m hopeful the Clones will get into the second round on Friday. If they do advance, the Cyclones will have to play #2 seed Kansas.

Over in the Big 10, Wisconsin gets a pass on the first round as the #4 seed, despite closing out the season with a two game loosing streak. The Badgers (19-10, 9-7 Big 10) play #5 seed Indiana (17-10, 9-7 Big 10), who was ranked #24 when the Badgers beat them 72-54 at the end of January. A win against the Hoosiers will most likely send UW against #1 seed Ohio State.

To be honest, Marquette probably has the best chance to go deep in their tournament, being the #4 seed in the Big East. The Golden Eagles get a bye on first round action and will play the winner of the Georgetown (a ranked team they beat) vs. Notre Dame matchup on Thursday, which will probably send them up against UConn (another ranked team they beat) on Friday.