UNC or Wisconsin? Picks Baylor’s potential Round 2 opponent in the 2021 March Madness bracket.

There is nothing like sitting down to watch the 2021 NCAA tournament ground and fill your bracket. You take a look at the areas, find out which team you think will advance, and then check the city to fill all possible winners.

Every year, head-scratchers prove to be a 9-8 matchup; And 2021 is no different. Although some people choose 8 or 9 seeds to go deeper into their brackets as they almost always play the No. 1 seed in the next round, they can prove to be selectively important. And if you end up picking the right teams in those matches and choose one of those squads to beat the No. 1 seed correctly, it gives you some significant differentiation in the high-stakes bracket pool.

This year, the most intriguing is the 8-8 matchup between Wisconsin and UNC. Just a week ago, the idea of ​​the Tar Heels was met with a quizzical look, but they have done so after a strong end to the season. Meanwhile, the baggers are heading in the opposite direction, later struggling against elite members of the loaded Big Ten.

Despite their different paths, Wisconsin (17–12, 10–10 Big Ten) and UNC (18–10, 10–6 ACC) have very similar records. Of course, the Big Ten is a lot stronger than the ACC, but you can never count on a blue blood team like UNC, especially Roy Williams as their head coach in charge.

With this, here is all you need to know about the matchup between Wisconsin and UNC, including rankings, key players, season breakdowns and more:

Expert Bag Picture:
DeCourcy (Gonzaga) | Alcoholic (Illinois) | Fagan (Gonzaga) | Lutowski (Baylor)

UNC vs Wsicvin Odds

Wisconsin-UNC is the 14th overall game to be played in March Madness, and is the official first round of the NCAS tournament. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, UNC is favored in the competition. Below is a description of their game, including betting odds, time, TV and venue.

• Odd: UNC (-1.5)
• Date: Friday, March 19
• Time: 7:10 pm ET
• TV: CBS
• Arena: McKay Arena

Wisconsin (17–12, 10–10 Big Ten)

Historically, Wisconsin has been one of the powerhouses of Big Ten basketball. He qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 20 of the last 21 seasons and made it to the Final Four in consecutive seasons, 2014 and 2015, and finished as Duke’s runner-up during the ’15 season. The team made an easy transition from Bo Ryan, who coached the team for 15 years, but retired during the 2015–16 season, with Greg Garde and the Guard leading him to the Sweet 16 twice in ’16 and ’17.

During the 2020-21 season, the Badgers got off to a good start, setting a 10–2 record in their first 12 matches. However, he narrowed the stretch, losing nine of his final 14 against a tough Big Ten schedule. During their defeats, they lost to teams ranked on nine occasions, including Iowa (three times), Michigan (twice), Illinois (twice), Ohio State and Purdue.

The Buders’ struggles can certainly be chalked up to an extremely tough schedule, and they have beaten three ranked teams this year including Louisville, Michigan State and Minnesota. They beat tournament-linked teams including 10-seed Maryland, 10-seed Rutgers, 8-seed Loyola Chicago and then Michigan State, playing in the first four.

• Net Ranking: 24
• KenPom Ranking: 10
• Quad 1 Record: 5-10
• Quad 2 Record: 5-2
• Quad 3 Record: 4-0
• Quad 4 Record: 3-0
• Aggressive efficiency ranking: 32nd
• Defensive efficiency: 13th

key players

D’Tritic Trice (6-0, 184-pound redshirt senior guard)
13.7 PAPS, 3.4 RPG, 4.0 APG

Micah Potter (6-10, 248-pound redshirt senior forward)
12.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.2 apg

Brad Davison (6-4, 202-pound senior guard)
9.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.3 apg

Aleem Ford (6-8, 217-pound redshirt senior forward)
8.7 PSP, 4.2 RPG, 1.1 APG

Nate Rivers (6-11, 235-pound senior forward)
8.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.7 apg

Field Construction:
WEST | East | South | MIDWEST

North Carolina (18-8, 10-6 ACC)

It looked the longest as if UNC would be out in search of a big bid, but they had made a strong run in their final six matches to show their way into the tournament. In their final six matches, they lost 4–2 with a combined five points with their two defeats. He nearly made it to the ACC Championship Game as the No. 6 seed in the tournament.

It is no surprise to see the Tar Heels in the tournament, due to their delay in winning at 11th-ranked Florida State and 23rd-ranked Virginia Tech. They are a little lower seeded than Sporting News, Bill Bender speculated, but don’t make any difference in the first round to look like an equally matched sport in terms of talent.

• Net Ranking: 32
• KenPom Ranking: 2.
• Quad 1 Record: 3-9
• Quad 2 Record: 8-0
• Quad 3 Record: 4-1
• Quad 4 Record: 3-1
• Aggressive efficiency ranking: 53rd
• Defensive efficiency: 15th

key players

Armando Bacot (6-10, 240-pound Sampore forward)
12.2 PSP, 8.0 RPG, 0.8 APG

Caleb Love (6-4, 195-pound freshman guard)
10.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 3.6 apg

Garrison Brooks (6-10 senior forward)
10.2 PPS, 6.8 RPG, 1.4 APG

De’Reon Sharp (6-11, 265-pound freshman forward)
9.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.5 apg

RJ Davis (6-0, 160-pound freshman guard)
8.6 PSP, 2.2 RPG, 1.9 APG

Bracket Tips: KenPom | Play the odds. Idiot guide

UNC vs. Wisconsin Prediction

This matchup figures to be a Wisconsin-UNC low scoring contest. Both teams are among the NCAA’s top-15 teams in defensive efficiency. While no offense is bad, this 9-8 matchup feels like it’s going to be more of a Peace-It-Out competition than anything.

However, if the Baggers can go deep, they will have a chance to make a lead that could cause the UNC to have trouble climbing back. The Badgers are ranked 72nd in the NCAA with 3 points of 35.94 percent, while ranked 270th from UNC’s 31.65 percent deep rank. Wisconsin has four regular rotation players, shooting 37.5 percent from behind the arc in Jonathan Davis, D Matric Tris, Brad Davison, and Micah Potter, so if they can get in a 3-point shootout, the Badgers are good. Will be deployed in kind. win.

That said, it has never been easier to beat the Tar Heels in a goal game in the NCAA tournament. UNC is 15–0 in the first round under coach Roy Williams, and has made all teams dating back to their Kansas days perfect in the first round. Williams would certainly be ready to have a great game-plan and attack Wisconsin. This can include heavily guarding the perimeter and engaging Wisconsin shooters both inside and out, using the lengths of guys like Armando Bacot, Garrison Brooks, and De’Reon Sharp.

It is also worth noting that UNC ranks third in the NCAA in rebounds per game, so their size and physicality allow them to dominate the glass against a Wisconsin team that ranks 256th in total rebounds per game. Given the strength and length of this UNC team, it would be no surprise to see Williams retain his ancient first-round record until Wisconsin Gates pulled out of the Red Hot.

History of 8 vs. 9 matchups in NCAA tournament

In true sense, throughout the NCAA tournament history, the 9 and 8 seed matchups have been relatively short. This is the largest coin-flip on any bracket, and is only one of the typical first-round matchups where the underdogs have an advantage over a higher-seeded team. No. The 9 seeds have a light edge of 72–68.

If you are looking at recent history, the No. 8 seed has a slight lead. He has set a record of 24–20 in the last 11 NCAA tournaments, but it is worth noting that the No. 9 seeds won in all 9–8 matchups last year.

So what does this mean? The game is truly a coin-flip and one that trends can’t tell us much about. For example, in this case it is more important to look at the matchup, and it seems that UNC has little advantage in this matchup.

The breakdown of the win below has led to 9 seeds having enjoyed 8 seeds in the last 10 tournaments: