The Big Ten regular season comes down to this final weekend. There's only a handful of games left, and then the teams are all seeded into the Big Ten Tournament, and a race for the crown begins. Unlike the women's Big Ten Tournament, the men's features all 18 teams over six days of basketball. Wisconsin could end up as high as the fourth seed and as low as the sixth seed.
Below is the rooting guide for the Badgers, depending on what seed you want them to get in the Big Ten Tournament. The bracket does matter, and many fans think that a 6th seed is actually better than a 5th seed. A 4th seed is obviously the best because that's an extra bye (triple-bye).
Wisconsin pretty much holds a tie-breaker over many of the teams around them because of their win over Michigan State, Illinois, and even Michigan. For tie-breakers, go to the record against the top Big Ten team. However, with only a few games left, Michigan State is no longer catchable. Illinois still is.
How the final Big Ten regular season games affect Wisconsin's Big Ten Tournament seeding:
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There are really only two games that matter for Wisconsin this weekend.
Illinois vs. Maryland and Wisconsin vs. Purdue.
If Wisconsin wants the 4th seed, they need to beat Purdue and hope Maryland beats Illinois. That's the only way they can get it. Michigan State beating Rutgers made it so the Spartans can't be caught by the Badgers in the Big Ten standings.
For the 5th seed, Wisconsin beats Purdue and Illinois beats Maryland.
For the 6th seed, Wisconsin loses to Purdue. That's the scenario for those three spots. Matt Hackman has done the probabilities for the Badgers to land in those three seeds. It's a 1% chance they are the 4th seed and 19% that they finish as the 5th seed, with the majority landing on the 6th seed at 80%.
However, here's how you root this weekend. Go Maryland, Go Bucky. Otherwise, it is what it is.