The Wisconsin men’s basketball team will take on Northwestern in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday afternoon. Following the home loss to Penn State that ended their regular season, the Badgers will look to build their NCAA Tournament momentum during the conference tournament.
In the first game of the tournament on Wednesday, 13-seed Northwestern defeated 12-seed Minnesota. Leading for nearly the entire matchup, the Wildcats were never in danger of losing the game and led by as much as 15 points in the eight-point victory.
Wisconsin enters postseason play on a sour note, blowing a lead to a lesser opponent in its final regular season game and missing out on a double bye in the conference tournament. Now, as the 5-seed in the tournament, the Badgers will have to forget about their poor performance to have a successful March.
Star forward Nick Martinelli went off for 28 points on 12-of-22 shooting and brought in seven rebounds in Northwestern’s first round win. Martinelli has been the Wildcats’ best player throughout the season and was named on the All-Big Ten Second Team on Monday.
Martinelli leads the Big Ten in scoring at 20.2 points per game, which also makes him one of the top 15 scorers in the entire country. He also averaged 6.2 rebounds per game. Martinelli was one of the most improved players in the conference, only putting up 8.8 points per game during the previous season.
A three-level scorer, Martinelli is a dangerous matchup for any opponent. While he gets most of his work done inside the arc, he has shown that he is a capable 3-point and free throw shooter. He has hit 35.2% of his shots from deep on the season, on a career-high 91 attempts. From the stripe, Martinelli shot 74.7%, showing that he is capable of punishing from the free throw line.
During their only previous matchup, the Badgers held Martinelli in check. He put up 15 points on 6-of-18 shooting and only made one of his five attempts from behind the arc. If the Badgers want to go 2-0 against the Wildcats this season, limiting Martinelli’s impact will be necessary.
Brooks Barnhizer is another key member of the Northwestern team and could be considered a secondary star alongside Martinelli. Barnhizer missed the previous game against the Badgers in Evanston, so the Badgers will need to prepare for a player they have not yet faced off against during the season.
Barnhizer averaged 17.1 points per game but has been hampered by injuries, only playing in 17 games. While on the court, Barnhizer was an impactful rebounder, leading the team with 8.8 per game, which would be fifth in the Big Ten if qualified.
Northwestern’s strength is its defense, being ranked inside the top 50 in defensive efficiency in KenPom and Torvik rankings. While their offense is not far behind in both rankings, it is clear that they are better on that end. In the Big Ten, they are in the bottom four in offensive efficiency and are 11th in defense efficiency, showing that their defense is their strength, but they really do not excel at one side of the ball or the other.
The Wildcats also have four capable scorers but suffer from a severe lack of depth outside of those players. Their fifth-highest scorer only averages 5.2 points per game, while the top four scorers all have averages in the double digits.
But Northwestern has the best turnover rate in the conference, and the Badgers will need to capitalize on turnovers when they get the opportunity. But Wisconsin is right behind the Wildcats in turnover rate, and both are the two best teams when it comes to taking care of the ball.
If the Badgers want a stress-free matchup, they will simply need to do what they do best: score points.
Wisconsin makes the most 3-pointers of any team and is fourth in scoring in the Big Ten. On the other hand, Northwestern has the worst field goal percentage and is the third-worst scoring team in the conference.
The edge in offensive talent and efficiency should be enough for the Badgers to overcome the effort of the Wildcats, and as long as they are making their shots as usual, they should be able to secure the win.
If the Badgers want to enter March Madness on a high note, they should not overlook Northwestern despite their low tournament seeding. It will be important for them to get out to a quick start and maintain their lead, something they could only do the first part of in their most recent matchup against Penn State.
