Wisconsin at Xavier

Wisconsin showed me a lot in their first-round game vs. Florida State. They couldn't hit the broad side of a barn in the first half of that game and trailed by 12 points at half. They didn't give up however and came back to win a confidence-booster in OT. The Badgers shot just 7-for-25 in the first half of that game, yet still won the game! That shows what this defense can do. They average just 59 points allowed per game in the regular season. And they've gotten better as the season has progressed. Over their past 11 games, not a single opponent has scored more than 61 points on them, and that includes the OT game. Their average ppg allowed over that run is a ridiculous 54.1! The Xavier defense is also good, but consider that over the same stretch dating back to the beginning of February, the Musketeers have given up 80, 74, 72, 71, 65 and 80 to opponents. Xavier's average looks good but they are much more inconsistent. Under Bo Ryan, the Badgers are 9-1 ATS on the road coming off an upset win. I look for Wisconsin to carry the momentum and confidence built from last game into this one.