Marquette a No. 3 seed, Badgers No. 5 seed in NCAA Tourney

Marquette gets No. 3 seed

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- March Madness is here! On "Selection Sunday," March 17th, the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee revealed the field of 68 teams invited to the Big Dance.

Two Wisconsin teams -- the Wisconsin Badgers and Marquette University were expected to be seeded in this tournament.

Marquette University (23-8) is a No. 3 seed in the East region in this tourney, and will take on No. 14 seed Davidson (26-7) on Thursday, March 21st in the first round of play. The teams will face off in Lexington, Kentucky. The teams face off at 2:10 p.m. Central Time.

The Wisconsin Badgers (23-11) are a No. 5 seed in the West region in this tourney. The Badgers will take on Ole Miss (26-8) in Kansas City on Friday, March 22nd. The teams face off at 11:40 a.m. Central Time.

FOX6 News was at the Marquette University Union Sports Annex when the announcement was made. Everyone in attendance Sunday evening welcomed the higher than expected seed.

"We never thought we were gonna get a three seed. You know, God bless, and we just gotta come out and take advantage of that," Marquette Senior Guard Junior Cadougan said.

"We weren't expecting it at all. When I was with my friends who were with us, when we found out, it was very exciting! We were all expecting a four-five seed. Getting a three is a lot better for us. Hopefully we can all move forward," Marquette fan Alison Mancuso said.

Players and fans knew the team had a good season, but after their early exit from the Big East Tournament, the NCAA Selection Committee could have made the road to the Final Four much tougher than a first round matchup with Davidson, followed by a face off with the winner of the Butler vs. Bucknell game.

"I didn't expect them to be up so high after their performance in the tournament, but happy about it," Marquette fan Jonathan Cleveland said.

"I think it takes recognition of everything that we did even the early struggles where we dropped games, to when we picked it back up and have a nice win streak in the Big East actually share a piece of the title," Marquette Junior Forward Jamil Wilson said.