Busting Brackets
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NCAA Basketball: 4 under-the-radar games on opening night of 2020-21

By Jason Burgess

JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 20: The NCAA March Madness logo on the floor during the NCAA Basketball First round practice session at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FL - MARCH 20: The NCAA March Madness logo on the floor during the NCAA Basketball First round practice session at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2019 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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NCAA Basketball Nate Reuvers (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) /

No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers

To open the season No. 7 Wisconsin plays host to Eastern Illinois out the Ohio Valley at the Kohl Center in Madison. The Badgers finished last season with a 21-10 record and atop the Big Ten, and Greg Gard’s squad is always one of the best defensive teams in the country.

This year Wisconsin returns six of the team’s top eight scorers and the team is loaded with experience as of the nine players that played the most minutes last season, seven return, and all but sophomore Tyler Wahl is a senior. Leading scorer Nate Reuvers and his 13 points and 4.5 rebounds return, as do guards Brad Davison and D’Mitrick Trice.

But potentially the biggest returner for the Badgers may be Micah Potter who only played the 2nd semester after transferring from Ohio State, but in that time, he was 2nd on the team in scoring with 10 points and a team-high 6.2 boards.

Wisconsin was one of the best defensive teams in the country, allowing just 62 points per game and ranked 17th in the country in defensive efficiency according to KenPom. But, where the Badgers struggle is on the offensive end. The Badgers’ 67 points per game were just 319th best in the country and a lot of that had to do with their reliance on the three-point shot and inability to get to the free-throw line.

Much like Wisconsin, Eastern Illinois returns a large chunk of their production from last season, with their top-seven scorers return led by conference Player of the Year candidate, senior Josiah Wallace led the team in scoring with 15.6 points while adding 4.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists.

Joining Wallace is fellow senior Mack Smith who is the team’s marksman and currently sits eight games away from breaking the NCAA record for consecutive games with a three-pointer made, a record currently held by Cory Bradford of Illinois at 88 games.

Add in a few of JuCo transfers in Junior Farquhar, Ryan Leonard, and Barlow Alleruzzo IV to Division I transfers Sammy Friday IV (Siena) and Madani Diarra (Saint Louis), and the Panthers have the makings of one of the deepest teams in the Ohio Valley.

Their first game will certainly be a good test to see how well the Panthers match up to one of the best teams in the country and prepare them to do battle with the top of the Ohio Valley.

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