There's no doubt about it; the Wisconsin Badgers were screwed simply for doing well in the Big Ten Tournament. They were able to advance all the way to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game, and it only cost them. They were seemingly locked in as a 3-seed either way, and now they have to turn around and play on four days' rest because this year's NCAA Tournament Selection Committee is a joke. Wisconsin is just a long list of oversights and complete mismanagement of the process.
Greg Gard on Michigan and Wisconsin having to play Thursday: That's a bigger issue we've brought up with the conference. Whoever is playing on Sunday should try to get a Friday game. That didn't happen, so quick turnaround.
— Benjamin Worgull (@TheBadgerNation) March 16, 2025
Greg Gard says the quick turnaround is a larger issue he's addressed with the Big Ten
The Big Ten has a problem that needs to be addressed, and the quick turnaround is just a symptom of the larger problem. Of course, they need to address the fact that the teams that make it to the championship Big Ten Tournament game can get an extra day of rest, but the larger issue is how the NCAA selection committee has deemed the Big Ten's tournament irrelevant.
The fact that the Big Ten Tournament champion didn't even move from their projections into the NCAA Tournament to their actual seeding of fifth is wild. They may as well not have even played and taken the rest instead.
Now, Gard probably wouldn't agree, as he feels like his Wisconsin Badgers got better in those four games and got their "defensive bite" back. Yet he is feeling the current frustration of going from Sunday to Thursday, traveling 1,000 miles away, playing at altitude. "It's a bigger issue we've brought up with the conference. Whoever is playing on Sunday should try to get a Friday game."
The Wisconsin Badgers will play the Montana Grizzlies on Thursday, March 20th, at 12:30 p.m. CT on TNT. The "how to watch the game" guide is here.