Wisconsin basketball is one of the top college basketball programs in the nation. How do the Badgers match up against Xavier in the Gavitt Tipoff Games?
Tip Time: Nov. 16 at 8:30 p.m. ET
TV Schedule: Fox Sports 1
Location: Kohl Center in Madison, WI
Wisconsin Badgers
Badger of Honor
One of the most successful programs of the 2000’s, the Wisconsin Badgers are once again off to a 2-0 start to their season. The Badgers might be expected to have a down season this year, but Wisconsin seems to always outperform expectations. The team may have lost arguably their best senior class of all-time in Bronson Koenig, Zak Showalter, Vitto Brown, and Nigel Hayes, but there is still enough returning talent to be one of the top teams in the Big Ten.
In addition to this returning talent, though, freshmen Kobe King and Brad Davison have come in and played a fair number of minutes in their first two collegiate games. In addition, the team has so far seen big games from players such as D’Mitrik Trice, Andy Van Vliet, Brevin Pritzl, and Khalil Iverson. These players providing valuable contributions is great, but this Badger team relies heavily on its star player on the inside.
Player to Watch: Junior Ethan Happ
The leading scorer on the team through two games, Ethan Happ is averaging 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game. One of the premier big men in the entire nation, Happ is not only a contender for Big Ten Player of the Year this season, but he has the potential to be a dark horse to win National Player of the Year if Wisconsin has a successful season. Happ will certainly be a tough matchup for Xavier and he has the potential for a great game that could upset the Musketeers. Still, even if Happ is great, he will need help to knock off the No. 15 team in the country.
No. 15 Xavier Musketeers
FanSided
The Xavier Musketeers are coming off of a season in which the team reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. Head coach Chris Mack returns a ton of talent from last year’s team, including a great duo of J.P. Macura and Trevon Bluiett. Both of these players are entering their senior seasons and will be the leaders of this team in every facet of the game.
The Musketeers also bring back Tyrique Jones and Kaiser Gates while adding a pair of impactful freshmen. In fact, both of these freshmen have already made meaningful contributions in their first two collegiate games. Paul Scruggs is at 9.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while Naji Marshall has chipped in 8.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game of his own.
Even though Xavier is typically a team that relies on their elite defense, the Musketeers put up exactly 101 points in each of their first two games while holding their opponents to 49 points and 75 points, respectively.
Player to Watch: Senior Trevon Bluiett
The clear star player on this team, Bluiett is off to a hot start to this season. In Xavier’s victories over Morehead State and Rider, Bluiett has averaged a team-high 25.5 points per game while snagging 7.0 rebounds as well. Bluiett is one of the best scorers in the entire nation and could easily be in contention to win Big East Player of the Year this season. He is one of the top preseason contenders along with Villanova’s Jalen Brunson and Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado.
Next: 68 reasons to be excited for college hoops
Even though Wisconsin is to be playing at home in this game, it seems that Xavier has the advantage both in overall talent and in experience. Even though Ethan Happ will get his buckets in this game, Xavier looks to have an advantage at just about every other position, including their depth off the bench. The overall team play and the home crowd will help keep Wisconsin in this one for the majority of the game, but Xavier could pull away down the stretch.
Final Prediction: Xavier 78, Wisconsin 71