No. 9 seed Wisconsin (17-12) vs. No. 8 seed North Carolina (18-10)
NCAA Tournament First Round, Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Indiana; Friday, 6:10 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Wisconsin is taking on North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. North Carolina lost 69-66 to Florida State in its most recent game, while Wisconsin came up short in a 62-57 game against Iowa in its last outing.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED: Wisconsin has relied on senior leadership while North Carolina has been fueled heavily by freshmen this year. For the Badgers, seniors D’Mitrik Trice, Micah Potter, Brad Davison, Aleem Ford and Nate Reuvers have collectively accounted for 76 percent of the team’s scoring, including 85 percent of all points over its last five. In the other locker room, freshmen Day’Ron Sharpe, Caleb Love and RJ Davis have collectively scored 38 percent of North Carolina’s points this season, including 39 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.DOMINANT D’MITRIK: Trice has connected on 38 percent of the 150 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 13 of 32 over his last five games. He’s also made 78.8 percent of his free throws this season.
ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Badgers have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Heels. North Carolina has 40 assists on 90 field goals (44.4 percent) over its past three games while Wisconsin has assists on 45 of 75 field goals (60 percent) during its past three games.
BALL SECURITY: The diligent Wisconsin offense has turned the ball over on 13.6 percent of its possessions, the second-best mark in Division I. 20.7 percent of all North Carolina possessions have resulted in a turnover (the Tar Heels are ranked 263rd, nationally).
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