The Xavier Musketeers and the Wisconsin Badgers both won their first round assignments in different fashions. The Musketeers had an easy time blowing Weber State out of the water, while Wisconsin had to sweat it out right to the end before shooting down Pittsburgh. After a day of rest for both teams, which will emerge victorious later tonight?
For more March Madness previews, you can check out our breakdown of Maryland vs Hawaii.
The real test begins for Xavier this Sunday. After dispatching tournament lightweight and 15-seed Weber State on Friday, 71-53, the Musketeers move on to the second round to face Wisconsin.
The Musketeers leaned on their frontline tandem of James Farr and Jalen Reynolds, who pumped in 18 and 12 points, respectively versus Weber State. The duo was simply too much for the Wildcats and the trend of Xavier’s big men dominating inside may very well continue this Sunday against the undersized and relatively inexperienced frontcourt of Wisconsin. Xavier’s size advantage should manifest in the rebounding battle, as the Musketeers are 12th in the nation with 40.9 RPG, while Wisconsin is getting just 35.0 RPG. Xavier massively outrebounded Weber State, 43-27, with Farr plucking down 15 boards.
Aside from Farr and Reynolds, Xavier also boasts of a solid bunch of guards led by sophomore Trevon Bluiett and frosh Edmond Sumner. Bluiett, who had 10 points against Weber State, paces the team with 15.3 PPG. Sumner, on the other hand, managed just two points on a salty 1-for-6 shooting, but he remains a capable scorer who can catch fire anytime. Before his dud in the Wildcats game, Sumner laughed at the face of Seton Hall’s vaunted defense and dropped 21 points, albeit in a loss in the semis of the Big East Tournament.
The over is 7-3 in the last 10 games of Xavier, which averages 81.0 PPG on 45.3 percent shooting from the floor.
He’s not exactly Frank Kaminsky but freshman Ethan Happ is constantly proving that he’s more than a suitable frontcourt piece for the Badgers. Happ scored 15 points and grabbed nine boards in Wisconsin’s 47-43 first round win over 10-seed Pittsburgh.
It’s about to get tougher for Happ and company though as they’re about to square off with two-seed Xavier, which as mentioned, features two stud big men in Farr and Reynolds. Wisconsin, however, is a grit-and-grind team that finds ways to win mostly by employing a choking defense that allows just 63.9 PPG. The Badgers like to take control of the game’s pace, neutralizing the offensive advantage of their opponents by deliberately slowing down the game’s pace. Wisconsin is averaging only 65.9 possessions per game, which is the 10th fewest in the nation.
Furthermore, Wisconsin is great in taking away opponents’ three-point game, as the Badgers surrender just 5.8 threes per contest.
Wisconsin’s not a great scoring team, as it puts up just 68.2 PPG, so the Badgers’ defense really has to do the heavy lifting in this game for them to keep in step with the high-scoring Musketeers.
Wisconsin is 6-3-1 ATS in its last 10 games as an underdog by six points or fewer.
