The Wisconsin Badgers earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday, and they’ll take on the No. 12 High Point Panthers in the first round, marking a battle between two high-powered offenses.
Wisconsin
Breaking down Wisconsin’s region and path to success in March
Wisconsin was placed in the West Region as the No. 20 overall seed in the field, and their region includes quite a few talented teams, led by the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats.
The Badgers are hoping to get out of the first weekend of the tournament for the first time since 2017, but they do have quite the path to do so.
With the West Region completely revealed, let’s take a look at the entire picture and evaluate Wisconsin’s path.
No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 16 LIU
No. 8 Villanova vs. No. 9 Utah State
No. 5 Wisconsin vs. No. 12 High Point
No. 4 Arkansas vs. No. 13 Hawai’i
No. 6 BYU vs. No. 11 Texas/NC State
No. 3 Gonzaga vs. No. 14 Kennesaw State
No. 7 Miami vs. No. 10 Missouri
No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 15 Queens
Wisconsin doesn’t have an easy path to success here in the tournament.
In the No. 5 vs. No. 12 matchup, the Badgers will take on High Point’s elite offense that rode waves last season and has carried on to this year.
Now, Wisconsin should be a comfortable favorite still and they possess one of the best offenses in the country, but this could be the type of game that goes in a shootout.
After that, though, comes the Arkansas Razorbacks, who jumped to the No. 4 seed line after winning the SEC Tournament. This should be an extremely exciting matchups between two teams with elite backcourts that have been hot heading into the tournament. Perhaps the rigorous schedule (3 games in three days, then potentially two more the week after) works in Wisconsin’s favor, since it’s a Thursday/Saturday draw.
Arkansas also isn’t a bad matchup with size. They’re a smaller team that’s more reliant on their guards, athleticism, and spacing. The depth is similar on both sides as well, with a slight edge to the Razorbacks. But Arkansas has Darius Acuff Jr., who has just been sensational as a freshman, leading the way.
Should Wisconsin find a way through both of those potential matchups, they’d have a likely date with the No. 1 Arizona Wildcats, who are one of the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.
Of the No. 1 seeds, this was going to be one of, but likely the, hardest matchup for Wisconsin. Arizona’s got depth, size, young talent, and high quality players across the board. They’re just elite and complete on both sides of the ball.
Still, as we’ve seen this year and especially lately, you can never count the Badgers out of a game. Wisconsin has won games in different ways: they can shoot their way to a win, they can work the paint and get to the line, they can dominate in transition, and more.
Just this week, we saw Wisconsin beat a bigger Illinois team in the paint and on the glass, while relying more on its shooting in the Michigan and Washington games.
Looking down the bracket, the Badgers could see Purdue again if the two sides are able to make it that far, which would make for a tantalizing matchup. Gonzaga could also be a difficult matchup with their frontcourt, while it wouldn’t be surprising if BYU’s offense carries them to the Elite 8 either. But before that, Wisconsin must overcome the challenge of making the second weekend for the first time since 2017.
The path to a Sweet Sixteen appearance is there for the Badgers. They’ve got advantages against a High Point team that also scores well, but has some defensive woes. And they match up well against Arkansas in comparison to other five seeds.
But, as we’ve seen the last few years, anything can happen in March.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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