Badgers set to dance, square off against North Carolina

The Wisconsin men’s basketball program is the only local team going dancing.

The Badgers (17-12) were awarded a No. 9 seed in the South region of the 2021 NCAA Tournament and will prepare to face North Carolina (18-10), a No. 8 seed, in the Round of 64. The game will be held on Friday. The winner will advance to play either No. 1 Baylor (22-2) or No. 16 Hartford (15-8).

Wisconsin was expected to earn a NCAA tournament bid despite a slumping 3-7 record over the final six weeks of its season. Although the Badgers haven’t won back-to-back games since topping Rutgers and Northwestern on Jan. 15 and Jan. 20, respectively, they have consistently hung around with some of the Big Ten’s toughest competition.

Wisconsin fell by five to then-No. 5 ranked Illinois on Feb. 27 and nearly upset the Iowa Hawkeyes in consecutive games played against one another just five days apart, losing by nine points combined.

The Badgers are led by redshirt senior point guard D’Mitrik Trice, who was recently recognized by conference coaches and a media voting panel as an All-Big Ten third team selection. Trice leads all Wisconsin scorers with 13.8 points per game and forward Micah Potter averages 12.9.

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard will certainly have his hands full trying to scheme against a young, but talented Tar Heels team guided by coach Roy Williams, who has the second-most all-time tournament wins (77), and is back dancing for the first time since the 2018-19 season.

There is precedent between both teams, too. Wisconsin and North Carolina have met twice, previously, in the tournament. The results have been split. The Badgers won 79-72 in the regional semifinal in 2015, en route to a huge upset victory over No. 1-ranked Duke in the Final Four. In 2005, Wisconsin found itself on the other end of the spectrum, losing 88-82 to a Tar Heels team that would eventually defeat No. 1 Illinois and clinch its fourth national title.