It’s March Madness time, Badger fans! The fifth-seeded Wisconsin Badgers take on the 12th-seeded High Point Panthers at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. Tipoff is at 12:50 PM CT on TBS, and the Badgers are favored by 10.5 points.
The Wisconsin Badgers enter this year’s NCAA tournament with a 24-10 record and a 14-6 Big Ten record. In their last game, the Badgers took the third-ranked Michigan Wolverines, who received a 1-seed in the Midwest Region, down to the wire. Unfortunately, a Yaxel Lendeborg
three-point basket proved to be the difference in Wisconsin’s 68-65 loss in the Big Ten tournament semifinals.
What should Badger fans know about the High Point Panthers?
Opponent Preview
Flynn Clayman’s first season as High Point Panthers head coach has been a success. The Panthers finished 30-4 overall and 15-1 in the Big South Conference. In the Big South tournament, they edged UNC-Ashville 75-71 in the semifinal, then dominated Winthrop 91-76 on March 8th to clinch their NCAA tournament spot.
High Point comes into this game with an outstanding offense that averages 90.0 points per game this season, which ranks third in the nation, and ranks among the top teams in college basketball with a +19 scoring margin. One of the keys to their scoring is their ability to get to the foul line with 26.8 free throw attempts per game. On the fastbreak, High Point also averages 18.8 points per game, good for fourth in the nation.
Forward Terry Anderson is the Panthers’ leading scorer at 16.0 points per game, but Badger fans must take note of point guard Rob Martin. Martin, a quick 5-foot-10 guard, posts 15.2 points, a team-best 3.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. In the conference title game, Martin scored 24 points to send High Point to March Madness.
In the frontcourt, forward Owen Aquino is High Point’s top shot blocker at 1.7 blocks a contest. The 6-foot-8 Liberty transfer from Spain also averages 9.4 points per game.
Two names to note coming off the bench are Cam’Ron Fletcher and Chase Johnston. Fletcher has played at Kentucky, Florida State, and Xavier before coming to High Point. Fletcher currently averages 12.7 points per game, which ranks third on the team. Despite averaging 6.1 points, Johnston is a lethal three-point shooter, shooting 48.5 percent from beyond the arc.
Score Prediction
Do not underestimate this team.
The Panthers are a team that will get up and down the court and test the Badgers’ defense early. I firmly expect this High Point team to give Wisconsin an intense game in this first round. High Point’s quickness should wake up the Badgers.
That said, while High Point is a solid college basketball team, they have not played a top-tier team like Wisconsin, as evidenced by their 0-2 record in Quad 2 games. The Panthers are meeting a Badgers team that can match their offensive firepower and will present their biggest test to date.
Look for Wisconsin to pull away from High Point’s upset bid in the second half and make Clark Kellogg look silly picking against the Badgers.
Prediction: Wisconsin 82-70
