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Wisconsin Basketball: Q&A with Keeping it Heel site expert

By Christian Borman

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 26: Traevon Jackson #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers goes up for a shot against Joel Berry II #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second half during the West Regional Semifinal of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 26, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 26: Traevon Jackson #12 of the Wisconsin Badgers goes up for a shot against Joel Berry II #2 of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second half during the West Regional Semifinal of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Staples Center on March 26, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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With the Wisconsin basketball team set to take on North Carolina, I thought it would be a good idea to learn a little more about the Badgers’ ACC opponent. I caught up with Keeping it Heel site expert, Blake Cockrum, to learn a little more about what we can expect to see from the Tar Heels on Friday night.

Tell me a little about the Tar Heels’ season. When did things seem like things were going really well, and when did it feel like the Tar Heels hit a low point?

The Tar Heels have been very mercurial this season; very hot and cold. When they’re really good, they’re really good. But when they’re bad, they can be really, really bad. Due to the youth and inexperience in the backcourt, they sometimes struggle with taking care of the basketball, and they aren’t great three-point shooters outside of freshman guard Kerwin Walton. When the bigs aren’t dominating down low with offensive rebounds and second-chance points, it’s hard for them to generate offense. That is, of course, unless it’s one of the few games where their guards are shooting incredibly well from the perimeter.

North Carolina is just 3-7 when scoring 70 or fewer points. Are the Tar Heels normally a team that needs to push the pace and get up and down the court in order to have success?

Roy Williams has always stressed on his team the importance of pushing the ball, and using the fast break and secondary break to generate points. It’s one of the hallmarks of his best teams in Chapel Hill. This team, however, is not as adept at doing that. They’re getting better, but again, the guards who typically lead said breaks are young and lack experience. They also lack consistency finishing around the rim at times. Because of that, this team simply hasn’t played as many possessions as teams of the past, or scored as many points.

North Carolina is the top offensive rebounding team in the country with almost 16 per game, so that’s an obvious strength. What would you consider the Tar Heel’s biggest weakness to be?

Shooting, particularly from the perimeter. Free show shooting. Turnovers.

The Tar Heels have three players averaging double-digits in scoring and a fourth close behind. Is the scoring just really spread out every night, or does it seem like someone different is doing the bulk of the scoring on any given night?

As the season has gone on, Armando Bacot seems to have become “the guy.” He has become their most consistent offensive weapon, and the one least likely to have an off game. Other than that, it seems to go up and down. Caleb Love will play extraordinarily well one game, and then barely score the next. The same can be said for most of the others.

Is there a player who could come out of nowhere and surprise the Badgers with his play? If so, who do you think that could be?

Walker Kessler is quickly becoming a game-changer in the low post. While he still lacks some experience, and could put on a few more pounds, he is really good at affecting shots in the painted area. He’s becoming a more prominent scorer, too. He looks to be a star in the making.

The Badgers have two bigs in the post in Nate Reuvers and Micah Potter. For a good chunk of the year, bigs like Luka Garza and Kofi Cockburn have gotten pretty much whatever they wanted in the post. Do you think North Carolina could do something similar?

If it’s the North Carolina team that played against Duke (twice), Louisville, and Virginia Tech, then it’s certainly possible. If it’s the team that showed up against Marquette, then Wisconsin will likely breeze into the Round of 32.

Prediction time: who do you think wins this game, and why?

Wisconsin played in the nation’s toughest basketball conference this season, but honestly had a pretty weak resume leading up to Selection Sunday. The Badgers began the season by winning 12 of their first 15 games, but lost nine of their last 14. Their last victory over a team with a winning record came on January 27, and seven of their 10 Big 10 wins came against teams with losing records. They failed to beat any of the top teams in their conference, despite playing competitively in the majority of them.

The Tar Heels certainly didn’t have the type of season that the college basketball world is used to seeing them have, either. If the best version of the Tar Heels comes out, I think they win. If the other guys show up, it could be a long game. My bet is that they’ll have a big game in the low post, and capitalize on their size advantage inside.

Tar Heels by a slim margin.

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