March Madness: Previewing Saturday’s Round of 32 Matchups
Wisconsin (8) vs. Villanova (1)
The reigning national champions, the Villanova Wildcats, will take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The Wildcats won by 20 over Mount St. Mary's while the Badgers beat Virginia Tech by 10 points. Our metrics like Villanova in this game, giving them a 69% chance to advance to the Sweet 16. This will definitely be a much tougher battle for the Wildcats as the Badgers rebound nearly 55% of missed shots and have a bit more seasoned tourney experience than a typical 8 seed.
Below are three players to keep an eye on from each team.
| Player | Team | PPG | RPG | eFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Hart | Villanova | 18.9 | 6.5 | .589 |
| Jalen Brunson | Villanova | 14.8 | 2.5 | .608 |
| Kris Jenkins | Villanova | 13.4 | 4.2 | .520 |
| Bronson Koenig | Wisconsin | 14.1 | 2.1 | .532 |
| Ethan Happ | Wisconsin | 13.9 | 9.1 | .584 |
| Nigel Hayes | Wisconsin | 13.5 | 6.5 | .479 |
Here is a quick breakdown of the team stats comparison.
| Team | nERD | O Rtg | eFG% | Reb% | TO% | D Rtg | Opp. eFG% | Opp. TO% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Villanova | 20.13 | 118.0 | .579 | 52.9 | 15.2 | 95.4 | .481 | 17.7 |
| #8 Wisconsin | 14.69 | 110.7 | .519 | 54.6 | 14.1 | 93.4 | .468 | 17.9 |
