A look at the Wisconsin basketball team’s first round opponent
On Friday evening, the Wisconsin basketball team will play the 10-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers in the First Round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament. Given that Pitt has been fairly mediocre and are not a big TV draw, chances are that most Wisconsin fans have not had the opportunity to see them play.
Related Story: Badgers Make 18th Straight NCAA Tournament
But fear not, because here is every single statistic you need to know about the Panthers ahead of the Paul Chryst Bowl.
11- players that average 8 minutes or more in Pitt’s rotation. The Panthers have the edge in depth but it shouldn’t matter much for a first round game, especially because the Badgers have had over a week to rest.
16- points per game is the average of junior forward Michael Young, the Panther’s go-to scorer. He is solid, but not in the same league as Nigel Hayes offensively.
34.8 – Pittsburgh’s 3-point percentage on the season, which is nothing special. However, they are known to be quite streaky, sometimes shooting a much higher 3-point percentage, and some times much lower than their average.
75.4 – Pittsburgh’s free throw percentage, good for the best rate in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Unfortunately, they also draw a lot of fouls.
41 – Pitt’s total team rebounds per game, which is good, but not great. Wisconsin and Pitt should be evenly matched on the boards.
17- Pitt’s average assists per game, which is 2nd in the ACC.
12- Pitt’s turnover average per game.
5- wins against NCAA Tournament at-large teams this year, although three of them were against Syracuse, who Wisconsin also beat.
5- wins away from home this season, compared to 7 losses. Pitt has losses to Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and Clemson on the road, indicating a big drop off when they don’t have a home court advantage.
1-11- record when held to 71 points or fewer.
20-0- record when they score 72 points or more.
45- Ken Pomeroy Ranking, which is 13 spots worse than Wisconsin.
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33- Ken Pomeroy Adjusted Offense Ranking, which is 24 spots better than Wisconsin.
86- Ken Pomeroy Adjusted Defense Ranking, 62 spots worse than Wisconsin.
299th– Ken Pomeroy Ranking for fastest tempos, which is extremely slow, but still much faster than Wisconsin. There will not be too many possessions in this one, so it will come down to rebounding, turnovers, and efficiency.
35.4– percent of their own misses Pitt rebounds, which is very good. Wisconsin needs to focus on boxing out.
75- percent of defense rebounds Pitt scoops up, which will not allow Wisconsin to have much success crashing the glass. Both of those rebounding percentages are slightly better than Wisconsin’s rebounding percentages.
26– Pitt’s national ranking for points per possession at 1.104 PPP.
5- wins in their last 13 games. Ever since a piping hot start to the season, the Panthers have dropped off, playing their worst basketball at the wrong time. Or for the Badgers sake, the right time.
Next: Breakdown of Wisconsin's Draw
2– times since 2005 where Pitt advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. Poor Jamie Dixon has a lot of experience choking early in the NCAA tournament.
43.8– Percent chance Pitt has of upsetting Wisconsin according to Ken Pomeroy.