Madison Reporter

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team looks to make some memories of their own when they open NCAA play in the Midwest Regional at the Milwaukee and Fiserv Forum early Friday afternoon.

"It's every kid's dream to play in March Madness. And we get to do it right here in our home state," junior forward Tyler Wahl told UWBadgers.com.

Badgers coach Greg Gard seconds many of those same emotions.

“They dream about March Madness. We all did when we were younger. And to be able to obviously play here in Wisconsin doesn’t guarantee anything but it is a reward for the last four, five months,” Gard told NBC 15.

The No. 3 seeded Badgers’ quest begins in earnest Friday afternoon when they face off against Patriot League champion Colgate (23-11, 16-2), who comes into battle riding a 15-game winning streak, Fox Sports reported.

Sophomore guard Johnny Davis sets the table for Wisconsin (24-7, 15-5), averaging 19.7 this season after barely seeing the floor in his first season of Big 10 play. Davis gets plenty of support from senior guard Brad Davison, who averaged 14 points and provides leadership while playing a team-high 34 minutes a night.

The Badgers' reward for knocking off the Raiders would be a trip to Chicago and a date at the United Center. But Gard is doing all he can to make sure his team stays in the moment.

"You talk about making a run?" he told UWBadgers.com. "Well, you've got to make a run for the next 40 minutes. That's what we're guaranteed. These guys have been in tournament atmospheres before."