INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.—The NCAA Tournament Selection Committee did not pave the easiest of roads for the Wisconsin Badgers (24-6), but the journey will begin close to home. Tabbed the No. 6 seed in the East Rutherford regional, the Badgers will face the Richmond Spiders in the first round Friday, just down the road in Milwaukee. The game will tip off at 6:20 CDT.

“It’s great for us, we’re close to home,” guard Devin Harris said. “We’re happy we’re going anywhere in the end to play in the NCAA Tournament. I think we’ll get great fan [support], so it’s a good thing for us.”

Despite a Big Ten Tournament championship and a second-place regular season finish, UW drew just a six seed from the committee. Illinois, who Wisconsin beat to claim the tournament championship, earned a No. 5 seed in the Atlanta regional. Though they may have been slightly disappointed, the Badgers are looking forward to playing in front of their fans in Milwaukee.

“I expected a little higher, us finishing second in the season and then winning the Big Ten Tournament, then Illinois comes out and gets a fifth seed,” guard Boo Wade said. “I think it’s going to work out to our advantage, being a sixth seed and playing right at home.”

Ranked No. 10 in both polls, Wisconsin finds itself seeded behind No. 11 Texas, No. 12 Cincinnati, No. 13 Illinois, No. 14 Kansas, No. 15 Georgia Tech, No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 17 North Carolina State, No. 19 Providence, No. 21 Maryland, No. 24 Syracuse and unranked Florida.

“In this tournament, every team is so even, so it’s hard to determine between all the top teams,” forward Mike Wilkinson said. “We’re happy to be going to Milwaukee and playing in the Bradley Center where we’ve been before once or twice. Having the fans there is going to be great. We’re happy to be there.”

The Badgers will have their work cut out for them in a region that includes Saint Joseph’s, Oklahoma State and Pittsburgh.

“We really have no control,” guard Clayton Hanson said of the seeding. “We do what we can on the court and luckily we get to play close to home, that’s a plus for us. We’ll play wherever they put us, whoever they put us against. We’ll play and we’ll be ready for it.”

Also drawing No. 6 seeds were Boston College (23-9), North Carolina (18-10) and Vanderbilt (21-9).

“I’m happy for the team, the fact that they’re in the tournament,” Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. “They took care of business in the regular season and now in the conference championship game, conference tournament. I look at teams as a coach and I can’t see the difference between three through eight to be honest with you. I wouldn’t want to be in that room, I wouldn’t want to make those decisions.”

For Milwaukee natives Harris, Wade and Freddie Owens, the game with Richmond will provide the opportunity to play in front of family and friends.

“I’m very excited. I’m going home, right in Milwaukee,” Wade said. “My family is going to be able to get out and see me play, so I think it is going to be a great thing for us.”

The Richmond Spiders finished the 2003-04 season with a 20-12 mark, including wins over Xavier and Kansas. Out of the Atlantic-10 Conference, the Spiders earned an at-large bid. The two schools have not previously met.

“I don’t know anything about them, but our staff will definitely have us prepared,” Hanson said. “We’ll know a lot more than we’ll want to probably.”

“I’ve seen very little myself,” center Dave Mader said of Richmond. “That’s the coaches’ job, I’m going to leave that up to them.”

Should it defeat Richmond, Wisconsin would have a Sunday date with the winner of Friday’s game between Pittsburgh and Central Florida.

“We were happy just to be in the tournament,” Mader said. “It was a great feeling and we’re looking forward to playing Richmond. It’s going to be a good game.”