WASHINGTON _ Wisconsin's road to the Final Four won't be easy.
The Badgers may be lucky to reach the Sweet 16 this year.
UW (25-9), which suffered a 71-56 loss to Michigan Sunday in the Big Ten title game, was seeded No. 8 in the East Regional.
The Badgers open Thursday against Virginia Tech (22-10) of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hokies, who finished 10-8 in the league, are led by former Marquette coach Buzz Williams.
The winner likely gets defending national champion Villanova (31-3), the No. 1-seeded team in the regional.
Villanova opens against either Saint Mary's or New Orleans.
The Badgers extended their NCAA Tournament streak to 19 consecutive seasons. The last time they failed to make the field was 1998. Sunday was UW's lowest seeding since 2009, when the Badgers were seeded No. 12. The Badgers upset No. 5 Florida State before losing to No. 5 Xavier.
UW last season was seeded No. 7 in the East Regional and defeated No. 10 Pittsburgh and No. 2 Xavier before falling to No. 6 Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
