NCAA Tournament Preview: Notre Dame Vs. Wisconsin

NOTRE DAME (23-11) VS. WISCONSIN (22-12)

Where: Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia

Rankings: Neither team is ranked.

Time/TV: 7:27 p.m. ET on TBS.

Last Meeting: The Irish won 58-51 over Wisconsin in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., on Nov. 28, 2010.

How They Got Here: Wisconsin beat No. 10-seeded Pittsburgh 47-43 in the tournament’s first round, then defeated No. 2-seeded Xavier 66-63 in second round.

Common Opponents: Wisconsin finished 7-1 against Syracuse (win), Iowa (win), Michigan (win), Indiana (twice, split), Illinois (twice, sweep) and Pittsburgh (win). Notre Dame finished 3-3 versus that same group — Syracuse (loss), Iowa (win), Michigan (win), Indiana (loss), Illinois (win) and Pittsburgh (loss).

• Notre Dame Notes

The Irish are coming off an electric 76-75 win over No. 14-seeded Stephen F. Austin in the round of 32 March 20.

Notre Dame trailed 75-70 with 2:05 to play, but earned timely stops and buckets down the stretch to set up a last possession trailing 75-74.

Junior guard Demetrius Jackson dribbled some clock out, then drove hard to his right side, throwing up a shot with six second to play that bounced off the backboard.

Senior forward Zach Auguste grabbed the rebound and tried a putback with three seconds left, but his attempt also didn’t go in.

Finally, freshman guard Rex Pflueger tipped the ball with one hand towards the goal, and it bounced in with 1.5 seconds left on the clock for the one-point win.

It was an encouraging performance after a mixed bag against Michigan (the Irish trailed 41-29 at halftime before a 70-63 win.) Yes, Stephen F. Austin was seeded lower than Michigan, but Notre Dame averaged 1.27 points per possession against the Lumberjacks suffocating halfcourt trap — its most productive 40 minutes since a 1.33 points per possession outing at Clemson in an 89-83 win Feb. 8.

Essentially, Stephen F. Austin largely kept Notre Dame from initiating any real offense until late in the shot clock, preventing any flow — but the Irish were able to score at a high rate anyway.

Now they draw a Wisconsin team who started the year 7-5 overall before Greg Gard took over for mid-year retiree Bo Ryan, and Gard navigated the squad to a 12-6 finish in the Big Ten regular season.

“I think we have a great feel for them,” head coach Mike Brey said of the Badgers. “And I have the utmost respect for the Wisconsin program.

“Greg Gard should be mentioned for national coach of the year stuff. I mean, this team was 9-9, 1-4. They lost to Milwaukee and Western Illinois at home. And he’s got them really playing. I think they’re extremely confident. They’re running what they run and they’ve always run. And a little bit like us, they believe they’re supposed to win every close game. So I think it makes for an exciting night tomorrow night.

“I think you have to try and get down on the floor on them a little bit and not play against their set defense. One of the things that’s helped us with Matt Farrell in the lineup, we have another guy that can push it in transition other than Jackson, and we can maybe get some easy buckets. Because if you have to play against their set defense, it becomes kind of a long night.”

• Wisconsin Notes

The Badgers are coming off a 66-63 win over No. 2-seeded Xavier with a finish that trumped Notre Dame’s against Stephen F. Austin on many of the nightly highlight shows.

Junior Bronson Koenig hit two three-pointers in the closing seconds — one to tie the game with 11.7 seconds remaining, and another as time expired — to send Gard’s program to the Sweet 16.

After boasting one of the nation’s top offenses last season, the calling card for the Badgers this year is defense. The Big Ten squad ranks 12th nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom.com, and 88th in offensive efficiency.

Their statistical profile is an interesting one. Wisconsin doesn’t overwhelm in any singular identity area, ranking 89th nationally in effective field goal percentage defense, 143rd in forcing turnovers, 76th in defensive rebounding rate and 106th in free throw rate allowed (a gauge for how often teams put shooters on the charity stripe.)

Instead, they just seem pretty solid in each area, versus a big strength in one or two areas and large weaknesses in others.

The last two seasons, Wisconsin’s offense has been known for its shooting and ball control, but Badgers tumbled far in those rankings this year. They check in at just 233rd nationally in effective field goal percentage (48.6 percent), which is dragged down by an awful rate from two-point range (46.6 percent, 256th nationally). And after ranking No. 1 nationally in turnover rate last year (12.4 percent), they’ve fallen to 91st (16.9 percent) this year.

Individually, they’re led by junior forward Nigel Hayes’ 15.9 points per game, in addition to 5.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists per contest.

“Seems like every year nobody talks about Notre Dame in the Selection Sunday or that first week, but you get to the second weekend [and] there they are,” Gard said. “Much like us, the names change, the numbers change — but the production in terms of what they do on the floor together and how they grow together, their ability to develop players doesn’t change.

“Whenever you have a really good point guard you always have a chance. They have a terrific one in Demetrius Jackson. And then the other — how Auguste has developed through the year, how [V.J.] Beachem is shooting the ball for them, what [Steve] Vasturia does for them.

“So, you can go through the lineup. Much like us, they’ve had different guys contribute and help them in different roles throughout the season, help them grow. For us, we know we’ll have to be very good.”

• Outlook

Rarely in any games in the Sweet 16 (and on) is there a large imbalance between two squads, and this game is no different. The contest could go either way — oddsmakers favored Notre Dame by one point as of Thursday morning, while KenPom.com projects the Badgers as a one-point winner.

In the end, Auguste could be the difference-maker matched up with Wisconsin redshirt freshman forward Ethan Happ.

• Prediction: Notre Dame 69, Wisconsin 65.