Xavier vs Wisconsin: March Madness Odds & Predictions

Written March 21, 2009 by Anthony Moretti

xavier-wisconsin-ncaa-tournament-predictions-032109 #4 seed Xavier matches up with #12 Wisconsin in second round action in the NCAA tournament’s East Region. Xavier had no problems in their first round game against Portland State winning by a final score of 77-59. The Musketeers had a well-rounded performance on offense with three players scoring 13 points and C.J. Anderson leading the way with 14. Wisconsin’s road to the second round wasn’t so easy as they won an overtime battle with Florida State by a final of 61-59. With both teams fighting for a spot in the Sweet 16, let’s take a look at how each team stacks up. For those of you that bet on college basketball, Xavier is favored in this game by 4 points over Wisconsin.

Wisconsin came into the tournament as the lowest-scoring team in the field posting just around 64 points per game, but what they Badgers lack in offense they seem to make up on defense. Wisconsin allowed just 59 points per game on average this year, one of the lowest totals of any team in the tournament. What makes the Badgers a dangerous team in the tournament is that they can score both inside and out, and play great defense in the paint as well as on the perimeter. Their leading scorer is forward Marchus Landry, who put up 12.5 points per game this year, followed by guard Trevon Huges with 11.9 points per game, and guard Jason Bohannon at 10.5 points per game who is coming off of a nice 16 point performance against the Seminoles in the first round. If I had to pick a concern for this team it has to be the lack of a true rebounder. 6-7 Guard/Forward Joe Krabbenhoft leads the team in rebounding with just 6.8 per game, and there is a huge fall off after that with Landry grabbing just 4.4 for second-best on the team.

Xavier matches up well with Wisconsin in that they also play good defense, but the major difference I see is that the Musketeers actually find ways to score. Xavier has three players that average double digit points this year, lead by B.J. Raymond with 14.1 points per game, but what’s more impressive to me about this team is that they have several solid contributors that come off of the bench. Another stat that stands out to me is that the Musketeers were 7-4 in road games this season, while Wisconsin was just 4-7. In the last two years in the NCAA tournament teams with a losing road record did not fair well in their second round games. Xavier doesn’t have a great rebounder either, but the difference between them and Wisconsin is that the Musketeers have a few players with better than average rebounding numbers where the Badgers have just one.

When you get right down to it, these teams are pretty evenly matched. The both play well defensively and both spread the ball around well on offense. The difference for me is in offense and rebounding, where I think Xavier has a significant advantage. It’s hard not to like the underdog after a gutsy performance in the first round, but I’ll take Xavier and give the 4 points.

Pick - Take Xavier -4

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