What Wisconsin needs to do to clinch top seed in Big Ten Tournament

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team has a shot at the number one seed in the Big Ten tournaments. But what exactly needs to happen for the road to the Big Ten tournament championship to run through Madison, WI? Well, it is not a lot, but the Badgers will need a little outside help in order to secure the number one spot.

For the Big Ten Men’s basketball tournament, the first four seeds come with first and second-round byes. The Badgers are already guaranteed at worst the fourth seed in the Big Ten tournament, as they sit up top with a conference record of 14-4. But to claim and maintain the No.1 seed, Wisconsin will have to beat Purdue and have Illinois lose to Penn State.

Tuesday night’s matchup between Purdue and Wisconsin will go a long way in shaping the course of the Men’s Big Ten tournament. Both teams are top-ranked in the conference, Purdue No. 8 and Wisconsin No. 10, and would love nothing better than to have homecourt advantage throughout the tournament. Purdue has had some trouble on the road, as of late, losing the last game to Michigan State on Saturday 68-65. But at home, it is a whole different story for the Boilermakers as they have the conference’s best home record at 15-1. Wisconsin is tied for the third-best home record with Illinois and Michigan State at 11-3.

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl on Wisconsin Michigan shuffle

The postgame scuffle between Michigan and Wisconsin on Sunday brought in a variety of opinions from around the sports world. Wednesday, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl weighed in.

Pearl weighed in on the punishments and the altercation itself during Wednesday’s episode of Jalen & Jacoby on ESPN. Michigan coach Juwan Howard received a five-game suspension — the rest of the regular season — as a result and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard had to pay a fine. Three players were also suspended.

Pearl didn’t specifically blame anyone, but indicated he thinks both teams were at fault in some way.

“I’m not in position to be judge and jury on this one,” Pearl said. “I think everybody’s been accountable for their mistakes. It’s a bad look. It takes two to tango. Obviously, when Coach Howard threw the first punch, that obviously took it to a different level.

“Look, everybody’s accountable. We all make mistakes. We’re all competitors. You deal with the punishment, you learn from it and you move on. You just move on. It didn’t require any more than it’s gotten. I think it’s been adjudicated properly.”