Part II of a multi-part series breaking down this year’s Madness.
Part I | Part II (East) | Part III (Midwest) 
MIDWEST REGIONAL | Team | Record | Conference | Team | Record | Conference | | #1 Kansas | 31-3 | Big 12 | #16 Portland State | 23-9 | Big Sky | | #8 UNLV | 26-7 | MWC | #9 Kent State | 28-6 | MAC | | #5 Clemson | 24-9 | ACC | #12 Villanova | 20-12 | Big East | | #4 Vanderbilt | 26-7 | SEC | #13 Siena | 22-10 | Metro Atlantic | | #6 USC | 21-11 | Pac 10 | #11 Kansas State | 20-11 | Big 12 | | #3 Wisconsin | 29-4 | Big Ten | #14 Cal State Fullerton | 25-8 | Big West | | #7 Gonzaga | 25-7 | West Coast | #10 Davidson | 26-6 | Southern Conference | | #2 Georgetown | 27-2 | Big East | #15 UMBC | 24-8 | America East | One would assume that Wisconsin has the easiest route in the tournament by virtue of their high #3 seed. But while they might not have any trouble dispelling CS-Fullerton, they face a tough USC squad in the second round. If they make it past that, and thats a big IF, they face the winner of the Georgetown/Gonzaga matchup. That’s no easy feat either. While Wisconsin has probably one of the toughest routes to the Final Four, I’d pick them to make it the furthest as long as they execute their well renowned defense cooling down hot shooting teams like USC. A Wisconsin-Georgetown matchup between the Princeton offense and Wisconsin’s defense would be excruciating to watch, but would be a great matchup nonetheless.
|
|  |  | | Record | overall | 29-4 | 23-8 |
| conference | 19-2 | 15-4 |
| against
tournament
teams | 6-4 | 1-2 | | Resume | RPI | 11 | 79 |
| SOS | 61 | 199 |
| Quality Wins | 8 | 1 | Team Stats
per game | Points | 67.3 | 82.6 |
| Turnovers | 12.1 | 13.5 |
| Rebounds | 38.3 | 39 |
| Free throw % | 0.709 | 0.706 |
| 3pt % | 0.359 | 0.386 |
| Blocks | 3.3 | 1.6 |  This is an easy game to predict. Wisconsin has a knack for slowing down fast-paced offenses. The only team this season to penetrate their famous defense was Purdue who beat the Badgers twice. But CS-Fullerton with an RPI of 79 and a strength of schedule of 199 is no match for Wisconsin with an RPI of 11 and a SOS of 61. For CS-Fullerton to even sniff victory in this first round, they must score at least 70. In conference play, Wisconsin has only managed to score more than 70 three times, two of them came in blowout wins against Penn State and the third coming against a dominating effort over Illinois. So, 70 would be a good benchmark for CS-Fullerton to aim for. Unfortunately for them, 70 against Wisconsin’s defense would be like running into a brick wall blindfolded. Mark it down. A blowout unwatchable game for the Badgers in Round 1.
|