Oates Reveals His “Magic Sauce” for March Madness Picks

In this week's episode of The Wisconsin Sportscast, Mike Lucas coaxes Tom Oates into divulging his tips for filling out a bracket in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

“Take your Final Four and work backward. .... Remember the first weekend is always chaos,” advises Oates, the former Wisconsin State Journal sports columnist. But he says look out for the teams that may be better than they appear on paper. “Auburn is absolutely the most underseeded in the tournament.”

The veteran journalists are also thrilled that the Badgers played up to their full potential in the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin defeated No. 3-ranked Purdue to make it to the championship game but fell to offensively strong Illinois.

“I thought we saw the best of point guard Chucky Hepburn against Purdue and Illinois,” says Lucas, a Cap Times sports freelance writer and former radio color analyst for the Badgers. “And a different player —  almost each game — is the leading scorer. Which is balanced. But I worry a little about how the Badgers are physically.”

No. 5 seed Wisconsin faces No. 12 seed James Madison in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Friday night. It has the makings of a classic upset, but Oates thinks Wisconsin has the tools to make it through to the next round.

“What James Madison does well is shoot the three with multiple three-pointers and they defend the three well. Wisconsin just has to crush it in the lane,” says Oates. “I think this game comes down to Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl and how much damage they can do. That or someone like AJ Storr or John Blackwell getting in there and taking it to the rim.”

The Wisconsin Sportscast with Lucas & Oates is a Cap Times podcast produced by Dylan Brogan. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

A weekly podcast with insights and analysis on the Wisconsin Badgers, Milwaukee Brewers, Green Bay Packers and Milwaukee Bucks from two of Wisconsin’s most experienced sports journalists. Mike Lucas is a veteran sports columnist for the Cap Times and was a Badgers radio color commentator for over 25 years. Tom Oates was a sports reporter and columnist for the Wisconsin State Journal for 40 years.