The forecast for Wisconsin's men's basketball team has gotten sunnier by the day in the latter half of the 2025-26 season, with bracket experts seeing the Badgers as a No. 6 seed in many scenarios.
That would give them a first-round opponent seeded 11th, usually bubble teams that get some of the last at-large berths.
Here are a smattering of teams who could wind up facing the Badgers, based on some bracket projections March 11.
Southern Methodist
The Atlantic Coast Conference team coached by former Florida Gulf Coast and USC coach Andy Enfield entered March 11 with a 20-12 record, 8-10 in the conference. The Mustangs could really use a strong run in the league tourney, including against Louisville on March 11. SMU headed into the tourney with four straight losses, only one of them against a ranked team. Kevin "Boopie" Miller scores 19.5 points per game, good for second-team all-conference. SMU hasn't been to the tournament since 2017.
Virginia Commonwealth
Remember when Shaka Smart led the Rams to the Final Four? The program is on its fourth head coach since Smart, currently Phil Martelli Jr., the son of the longtime St. Joseph's coach. Still, the Rams have only missed three NCAA Tournaments since that run to the national semifinal in 2011. The Atlantic 10 program went 24-7 in league play to share the conference title, though St. Louis (2-0 head-to-head with VCU) has the top seed in the tourney. A tourney loss would leave VCU with a compelling bubble case. Terrence Hill Jr., the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year, leads three players in double figures. He's first team all-conference along with Lazar Djokovic. Rookie of the Year Nyk Lewis scores 8.5 points per game.
Missouri
Coached by former Marquette University graduate assistant Dennis Gates, the Tigers are looking for a second straight NCAA bid and have a 20-11 record entering March 11, with a 10-8 record in the SEC. Mark Mitchell, in his second year at Mizzou after two years at Duke, scores 17.9 points per game and brings in 5.2 rebounds, good for second-team all-conference. The Tigers finished the regular season with a gauntlet of four ranked foes in six games, and they won two of those contests to strengthen their resume, with a third loss in overtime.
Santa Clara
Could the West Coast Conference get three bids? Gonzaga won the league tournament over Santa Clara on March 10, but longtime coach Herb Sendek's team has a real case at 26-8 overall. The Broncos have a strong schedule that includes a win over Minnesota and St. Mary's (another West Coast team that could get a bid), with Christian Hammond leading the way at 15.8 points per game. Allen Graves (11.6 ppg) is the league's Freshman of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year, a first-team all-conference pick alongside Hammond and Elijah Mahi (13.9 ppg).
North Carolina State
From Sendek's current team to a team he coached for a long time, N.C. State, now coached by Will Wade – the controversial ex-LSU coach who was one of the top stories in last year's tournament when he led McNeese State to a first-round upset win. At 19-12 overall, the Wolfpack are a clear bubble case, and they've closed the regular season poorly with six losses in seven games, but the one win was against No. 16 North Carolina. The Wolfpack are balanced, with four players averaging between 13 and 14 points. Lubin Ven-Allen has a league-leading 68.4% field-goal mark, and Quadir Copeland leads the ACC in assists (6.6). Former Michigan State guard Tre Holloman is in the starting lineup.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin could play one of these teams in NCAA Tournament first round