Wisconsin Badgers vs. Xavier Musketeers: Predictions

Badger of Honor staffers predict the Wisconsin Badgers round of 32 NCAA Tournament matchup

The Wisconsin Badgers and the Xavier Musketeers are set to square off in the second round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament after the seven-seed Badgers survived 10-seed Pittsburgh and the two-seed Musketeers took down 15-seed Weber State.

Wisconsin, despite a poor shooting performance against Pittsburgh, held off a late-game shot attempt from the Panthers and survived for a 47-43 victory in a low scoring affair. Xavier, meanwhile, took care of business against Weber State on the way to a 71-53 victory.

Both teams are seeking a spot in the Sweet Sixteen, and a win Sunday night will punch that ticket.

More badgers: Badgers to Face Xavier in the Second Round

Here’s how our staffers see the game playing out:

Taylor Johnson: If Wisconsin has another poor shooting night like they did against Pitt then they will be run out of St. Louis faster than when the Rams bolted for the city of Angels. I don’t expect that to happen. I do see this game being close and going back and forth. Wisconsin might have trouble dealing with the two big men for Xavier, James Farr and Jalen Reynolds. They will need to keep those two out of the paint and off the glass. Nigel Hayes will bounce back and Ethan Happ will have another solid game for the Badgers.

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In the end however, I think the Musketeers will prove to be too much for Wisconsin. Just like in 2009 when these two met last in the NCAA Tournament, the Badgers season will end. I hope I’m wrong.

Xavier 68, Wisconsin 59

Erik Buchinger: While Friday night’s game against Pittsburgh was a bit difficult to watch, it was nice to see the Badgers were able to pull out a victory with leading scorers Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig finishing a combined 4 of 25 from the field. The Badgers come into Sunday’s game as four-point underdogs, and I expect them to come out with much more fire. Xavier scores 81.3 points per game, so the Badgers need to play as well as they did defensively on Friday, and I think they will. Badgers will be headed to the Sweet 16.

Wisconsin 61, Xavier 59

Rayan Vatti: There is nothing that bothers me more than having to picking against Wisconsin. I rarely do it, I hate doing it, but for this game, I have to do it. Xavier is a really tough matchup for Wisconsin. They have good guards, solid shooting, and enough size and physicality to cause a lot of problems for the Badgers inside. To put it simply, the Musketeers have no real weaknesses on the offensive end.

To make matters worse, Wisconsin only has one full day to prepare for the hectic, confusing Xavier 1-3-1 defense, which they play on 33% of their possessions. In order to have a chance to win, Wisconsin needs to shoot the lights out. But after their shooting woes against Nebraska and Pittsburgh, I can’t see that happen.

Xavier 68, Wisconsin 58