The Wisconsin Badgers got the seed everyone was expecting with a No. 5 seed in the West Region. However, they arguably got the worst No. 12 seed draw against high-flying High Point Panthers, a team that can score 90 points a game and does it with ease. That matchup had Clark Kellogg picking High Point over the Badgers and putting Wisconsin on upset alert before the tournament.
It's also hard to watch Wisconsin land in the No. 5 seed again, even though it was expected. The Badgers have performed terribly in that seed. Wisconsin has only made it out of the No. 5 seed once in five appearances there. The Badgers should be on upset alert for that very reason alone. Wisconsin has lost the No. 5 vs. No. 12 seed matchup (as the No. 5 seed) three times in a row.
Wisconsin got a rough draw in the NCAA Tournament in both the first and second round
The most recent was only two seasons ago. Yet, High Point is the team people already circled as the No. 12 team to upset a potential No. 5 seed. The Panthers are 4th in the nation in scoring offense with 90 points per game. High Point has also won 14 straight games.
If you are looking for a silver lining, the Panthers haven't played a single quad-2 or quad-1 team in that entire stretch. They have four losses on the season, and all of them are to teams above 100 in the NET.
So it's a high-powered offense, but the Panthers haven't really seen a quality opponent. Yet, the Badgers may need this juice. Nick Boyd and the Badgers play their best when people and analysts are discounting them. Wisconsin struggles when it feels like an easy win, and having Craig Kellogg already saying Wisconsin is on upset alert is great news in that regard. Wisconsin needs to take High Point seriously so they can take care of business and move on to the round of 32.