The No.6-seeded Wisconsin Badgers play the No.11-seeded Nebraska Cornhuskers in the second round of the Big 10 tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Action begins at 8:55 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10 and can be seen on ES2 and ES3.
The Badgers are expecting a better outcome after their 91-80 loss to Purdue in their last matchup. Nigel Hayes was the game’s leading scorer with 30 points. The Cornhuskers, meanwhile, are coming off an 89-72 win against Rutgers in the 1. Shavon Shields claimed his first double-double of the season with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Baskets could be hard to come by as Wisconsin ranks 20th in the nation, allowing just 100.4 points per 100 possessions, while Nebraska is 28th (102.6). Also, the Cornhuskers commit the 24th-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 17.7%), while the disruptive defense of the Badgers causes the 24th-most (opponents’ TO% of 19.1%).
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Badgers winning the first matchup 72-61. Shields put up a double-double in the victory with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Notes
The Nebraska Cornhuskers have a defensive rating of 102.6 (ranked 28th), while the Wisconsin Badgers have an offensive rating of 108.9 (ranked 107th).
The Nebraska Cornhuskers average 67.0 possessions per game and 1.072 points per possession. The Wisconsin Badgers earn fewer possessions with 63.6, but they score more points with 1.089.
The Wisconsin Badgers average an effective field goal percentage of 49.5% this season. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have an abysmal record of 4-12 when opponents have an eFG% of 49.5% or greater.
On average, the Wisconsin Badgers attempt 18.0 three point field goals per game and the Nebraska Cornhuskers attempt 18.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Wisconsin is 8-6, while Nebraska has a poor record of 3-11.
Though Nebraska is one of the best in the country in forcing turnovers with opponents averaging a TO% of 20.0% (ranked 14th), Wisconsin has a winning 5-2 record SU when it has a TO% of 20.0% or greater.
