The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team (4-3) has a chance to break their two-game skid Wednesday night as they take on the North Carolina State Wolfpack (5-2) for the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
Last year the Badgers took down the Wolfpack at the Kohl Center thanks to a D’Mitrik Trice mid-range jumper that extended the Badgers’ lead with 26.3 seconds left in the game. The Badgers found themselves down by seven points at halftime last year and even trailed by as many as ten before making a second half comeback. Trice finished with 18 points, six assists and three steals in last year’s contest.
Men’s Basketball: Wisconsin struggles in Legends Classic with losses to Richmond, New Mexico
This time around, the Badgers are headed to Raleigh, North Carolina for their first true road game of the season. Currently, the Badgers are 4-3 on the season after losing their last two games against Richmond and New Mexico as part of the Legends Classic played in Brooklyn, New York. The Badgers struggled mightily scoring the ball in those two games as they put in a total of 102 points — 52 against Richmond and 50 against New Mexico.
The Wolfpack are 5-2 on the season thus far. Their only losses came against Georgia Tech and No. 15 Memphis, both of which were close games. NC State surrendered just a one-point loss in their contest against Georgia Tech and even put up a fight against No. 15 ranked Memphis — losing by just five points.
The Wolfpack has been putting up big scoring numbers this year by averaging 83.6 points per game with an average scoring margin of 13.2 points. With five players averaging in double figures and a deep rotation into the bench, NC State will be looking to run the floor and put up some big scoring numbers. It will be interesting to see how well this Badger defense will do in slowing down the fast-paced Wolfpack.
Men’s Basketball: Micah Potter’s issues with NCAA shows inconsistencies in system
Redshirt senior C.J. Bryce is poised to be a large threat to the Badger defense. He had 18 points and seven rebounds last year at the Kohl Center and he will be looking to put up similar numbers this year, if not bigger.
Bryce, a highly talented guard for the Wolfpack, has played incredibly efficient basketball this season by shooting the ball 54.3% from the field while scoring 16.1 points per game. He is also grabbing 7.3 rebounds per game while dishing out 2.7 assists per game.
Men’s Basketball: Previewing remainder of Badgers’ non-conference schedule
Tip-off is set for 8:15 p.m. between the Badgers and the Wolfpack. You can watch the Big Ten/ACC challenge on ESPN 2 or listen live with the Badger Radio Network.
