Sweet 16 pits Tar Heels against Badgers

Mar 26, 2015 - 2:25 PM Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Back in the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the last five years, the Wisconsin Badgers face a tough test as they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels at Staples Center on Thursday night.

A top seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, the Badgers have already set a new school record for wins in a season with 33 and are looking for more. Winners of the Big Ten regular-season and conference tournament titles with an 80-69 overtime triumph versus Michigan State, the Badgers are playing in this event for the 17th straight year.

Wisconsin began the postseason trek with an 86-72 win over 16th-seeded Coastal Carolina and continued with a 72-65 victory over eighth-seeded Oregon last weekend.

The Badgers have a tough task ahead of them when you consider the Tar Heels have been one of the most successful programs in this tournament over the years. North Carolina, a four seed this time around, has now made it to the Sweet 16 for the 26th time since 1975, the most of any team in the nation.

Playing a very challenging schedule, with 21 of their 36 outings pitting them against an opponent that made the NCAA Tournament this season, the Tar Heels managed to slip by an upstart Harvard squad in the second round, 67-65, and then dismiss Arkansas over the weekend, 87-78.

North Carolina, which now has a record of 112-43 in this event all-time, has won a total of five national titles, the latest of which came in 2009.

This is just the third meeting all-time between these two schools on the hardwood, with the Tar Heels having won both previous encounters. The most recent of those decisions was a narrow 60-57 triumph for North Carolina at home on Nov. 30, 2011. The teams also met during the 2005 NCAA Tournament as the Heels went on to win the trophy that year.

The winner of this game takes on the survivor of the Xavier/Arizona meeting on Saturday for the right to represent the West Region in the Final Four.

After shooting just 40.0 percent from the floor in the first half against Arkansas, the Heels picked up the pace with 55.0 percent accuracy from the field and 23-of-30 at the free-throw line after the break in order to grab the win. Marcus Paige led four players in double figures with 22 points, followed by Justin Jackson (16 points), J.P. Tokoto (13 points and eight assists) and Nate Britt (10 points).

Kennedy Meeks (nine points), played just 15 minutes versus the Razorbacks before going down with a sprained left knee. He did participate in non-contact action in practice on Wednesday, but his return to the floor will be a game- time decision.

If Meeks is unable to go, the Tar Heels will have to make up for his 11.6 ppg and 7.4 rpg, not to mention his presence in the paint which has led to 46 blocked shots and countless alterations of attempts. Paige (14.1 ppg) and Brice Johnson (12.9 ppg, 7.9 rpg) already have their work cut out for them for a squad that is beating opponents on the glass by 8.1 rpg and on the scoreboard by 9.3 ppg.

Wisconsin led from start to finish against the Ducks, but still Oregon put up a fight before going down in defeat. Utilizing just two players off the bench, the Badgers relied heavily on Sam Dekker (17 points), Frank Kaminsky (16), Nigel Hayes (14) and Bronson Koenig (12) to get them over the hump and into the round of 16 this week. In addition to outscoring the Ducks at the free- throw line (21-5), Wisconsin also took great care of the basketball with just six turnovers.

Kaminsky, the Big Ten Player of the Year and a candidate for national player of the year honors, sets the pace for the Badgers with 18.4 ppg and 8.1 rpg, not to mention keeping his teammates involved with close to three assists per outing as well. Dekker and Hayes provide solid support by producing 13.3 and 12.6 ppg, respectively, combining for close to 12 rpg as well.

Like Meeks for the Tar Heels, Wisconsin's staff will also be making a game- time decision on an influential player with news coming on Wednesday that Traevon Jackson, who has not played since the second week of January with a broken foot, could be ready to make his return. A starter in 84 straight games for the Badgers before going down, Jackson was averaging 9.4 ppg and 2.9 apg in 17 appearances.