In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Lucas and Oates are back in the studio to talk about, what else, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. The Badger’s drew a 3 seed (as they should), playing Montana on Thursday in Denver (which they shouldn’t). Not only are they playing just days after their loss to Michigan on Sunday, but Denver has some real altitude to it. Montana has played at a higher altitude, but the Badgers will need to adjust a little bit. More importantly, though, they should be playing in Milwaukee! Lucas and Oates are just about ready to launch a federal investigation into the matter…

But seriously, the Badger’s have a tight turnaround playing Thursday afternoon, as do all the Big 10 teams. It’s too tight a turnaround, Oates says, to have to potentially play a Big 10 Championship game on Sunday then turn around and play again on Thursday. He still thinks it’s best for teams to win one, maybe two games in the Big 10 tournament, then lose to a good team and rest up before the NCAA Tournament half a week later. Teams aren’t judged by their performance in the Big 10 Tournament, they are judged by their March Madness performance. Should it be that way?  Maybe, maybe not. But that’s the way it is, and that isn’t going to change. The Big 10 should make some sort of deal with the tournament committee to give the players some kind of a break, even if it’s just a day.

But in the meanwhile, the Badgers will take on Montana on Thursday afternoon in a game that should be nothing to worry about. After that, it’s either BYU or VCU. Sure, BYU are good shooters, but Wisconsin is likely the most balanced team in the country right now and can score from just about anywhere. If the Badgers want to say they had a decent season, they’re going to have to make it to the second weekend. Of course, you want to see them do even better than the second weekend, but if they want to be taken seriously it’s a must. They’re good enough for it too, Oates says, but it’s still the NCAA Tournament, so anything can happen. 

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Nate Wegehaupt. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.