The Wisconsin Badgers are set to take on the High Point Panthers to kick off their NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon, with tip-off slated for 12:50 p.m. CT at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon.
Drawing the No. 20 overall seed in the tournament, the Badgers were given the No. 5 seed in the West Region, where they drew No. 12 seed High Point in the first round. It’s the second time in three years that Wisconsin has drawn a five seed and the second straight season that High Point has won the Big
South conference and made the NCAA Tournament.
The matchup pits two high-octane offenses against each other. Wisconsin is scoring 83.0 points per game, the team’s most since the 1970-71 season and the third-most in program history. Meanwhile, High Point is averaging 90.0 points per game, thanks to a high-paced offense led by forward Terry Anderson.
Heading into the week, the Badgers were still dealing with some injury issues, as center Nolan Winter was dealing with an ankle injury that he tweaked in Wisconsin’s win over the Maryland Terrapins at the end of the regular season.
Winter had warmed up on the court at the Big Ten Tournament last week, but ultimately didn’t play in any games, although he expressed minimal concern that he’d be ready for the NCAA Tournament.
Another key injury has been the loss of reserve wing Jack Janicki to a broken wrist. Janicki required surgery and was expected to be out for the foreseeable future, but he has returned to practice and is continuing to heal.
Ahead of Thursday’s matchup with High Point, head coach Greg Gard provided one last injury update on his two players, sharing some optimism for the fans.
“Nolan, yes, I do expect him to be available,” Gard said, via 247Sports’s Nick Osen. “He was full go yesterday in practice. I assume he’ll be the same today. We’ll practice here once we get done with the press conference.
“And Jack, he did more yesterday, but it was all non-contact. I assume Jack is still questionable for tomorrow, if not out. He has not been in a full practice yet. But Nolan is full go.”
Winter being a full-go is huge for the Badgers as they get back their lead rim-protector and third-leading scorer. In his absence, though, Aleksas Bieliausksas and Austin Rapp stepped up and were key in some big wins. They’ll now play more complementary roles, and could still see an uptick of minutes if Winter is on a minutes restriction.
Without the big man, Wisconsin has seen some depth issues, but several younger players have stepped in well to fill those roles, such as Hayden Jones and Will Garlock. There’s more flexibility now with Winter in the fold.
As for Janicki, it felt like a longshot initially for him to be ready for the start of the tournament, but he seems to be progressing well and could have a better chance at being 100 percent cleared closer to next weekend. If he’s back as well, Wisconsin would have quite a few depth options.
We’ll see how much the Badgers tax Winter on Thursday, but it’s a good sign regardless that he’s back.
