Wisconsin Badgers will be the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament

The Badgers will participate in the Big Dance as a three-seed and play Colgate in the first round on Friday.

March Madness is here, and the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team has officially punched their ticket to the Big Dance. 

Wisconsin (24-7 overall) will take part in the Midwest Region of the field as a No. 3 seed, and will face off against the No. 14 seed Colgate on Friday in Milwaukee. Tip-time is set for 8:50 p.m. CST from the Fiserv Forum, and will be aired on TBS. 

With Wisconsin's inclusion in the tournament field, the Badgers have now participated in the NCAA Tournament in 22 of the past 23 seasons, one of the longest active streaks in the country. Their opponent, the Colgate Raiders, won the Patriot League to make the tournament, and the two teams have not met since 2011. 

Projected anywhere between a No. 2 to No. 4 seed by various outlets, the Badgers managed to hang on to a No. 3 seed despite losing their last two games, most recently against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament. 

The fact that Wisconsin does not play until Friday provides the team an extra day's rest, which could prove beneficial considering Johnny Davis has been nursing a right ankle sprain. Considering the Badgers will be playing in Milwaukee as well, Wisconsin has about as great of a draw as possible. 

In looking at the rest of the Midwest Region, a first-round win by Wisconsin would result in the Badgers taking on either the No. 6 seed LSU or the No. 11 seed Iowa State in the second round. The other top teams in the region include No. 4 seed Providence, No. 2 seed Auburn, and No. 1 seed Kansas. 

Wisconsin has jumpstarted deep tournament runs in Milwaukee before, can they do it again?