Here is where some of the area’s favorite college teams stand heading into Selection Sunday later this week:
NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
After a few years away from the dance, Marquette University is looking to ride the madness to its first title since 1977. Regular season conference champions, the Golden Eagles are the beasts of the Big East and anticipate making some noise in the big dance as a projected 2 or 3 seed in the tournament. The #6 ranked team in the nation looks to bolster its resume with a strong showing in the Big East tournament later today against St. Johns in New York for a chance to cement itself as one of the hottest teams entering the 2023 tourney.
After an exceptional season in the Horizon League, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers will miss out on the madness this season. Coming off an exciting win in front of an energetic, raucous crowd at the Klotsche Center last week, the Panthers came up short in the chase to punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament on Monday, falling to the Cleveland State University Vikings in Indianapolis.
Clinging to a sliver of hope, the University of Wisconsin-Madison Men’s Basketball team’s dream to hear their name called on Selection Sunday is swiftly fading. A season that began under the lights of American Family Field against Stanford in the one-of-a-kind sporting extravaganza now comes down to the wire as they need some help from several other bubble teams to sneak into the tournament.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament
Only one women’s team in the area is projected to partake in the madness. At the moment, the Golden Eagles of Marquette University rest firmly on the bubble heading into tournament selection weekend. With a chance to bolster their case, the projected 11 seed ran into the powerhouse #9 UConn Huskies in the Big East Tournament Semifinals earlier this week. Finishing fourth in the Big East, the 21-10 Marquette squad is considered by ESPN as one of the last four teams to enter the fray of March Madness.