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The time has finally come, folks. The Wisconsin Badgers have played their way into a No. 1 seed and will face Coastal Carolina Friday night at 8:20 p.m. CT in the second round of the NCAA tournament. So what does the resume look like for the Badgers' first opponent?
The Chanticleers went 24-9 overall with a 12-6 Big South record. Their best wins include a pair against Big South regular season-champs High Point and at Auburn. They narrowly lost to Mississippi back in December, but got crushed by UCLA to start off the year. Coastal Carolina is 9-3 in its last 12 games, including a double-digit win over Winthrop in the conference tournament championship, so the Chanticleers will be headed into this opener with some momentum.
Coastal Carolina is led by a pair of guards, senior Warren Gillis and sophomore Elijah Wilson. Gillis leads the team with 13.1 points and 3.2 assists per game, with Wilson contributing 11.1 points per himself. The Chanticleers are a solid rebounding team that can get up the floor fast, but are ranked 136th in offensive efficiency and 164th in defensive efficiency. They also are a poor perimeter shooting team (117th, 35.6 percent 3PT) and have a general lack of size that will be a problem as they prepare for Wisconsin.
Of course, the Badgers are the top-seeded team in the bracket, but look for Frank Kaminsky to put on a show to start the tournament. Coastal Carolina's smaller lineup is going to be devastated when it tries and matchup against the Wisconsin senior. Also, I expect Sam Dekker to rebound after a tough game in the win against Michigan State. Lastly, Josh Gasser is going to put on a defensive clinic as he matches up against the Coastal guards. Obviously with the start of March Madness, anything can happen, but don't expect any surprises as the Badgers should handedly win this opener.
Coastal Carolina at a Glance (Numbers via KenPom.com)
| Ht | Wt | Yr | GP | %Min | ORtg | %Poss | %Shots | eFG% | TS% | FTM-FTA | Pct | 2PM-2PA | Pct | 3PM-3PA | Pct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Go-to guys (>28% of possessions used) | ||||||||||||||||
| Josh Cameron | 6'1 | 175 | Sr | 27 | 52.9 | 111.5 (383rd) | 28.9 (79th) | 32.6 (27th) | 51.3 | 55.7 | 76-100 | 0.760 | 64-132 | 0.485 | 48-133 | 0.361 |
| Major Contributors (24-28% of possessions used) | ||||||||||||||||
| Warren Gillis | 6'3 | 205 | Sr | 28 | 80.2 (313rd) | 101.5 | 25.2 (326th) | 24.7 (475th) | 46.4 | 52.7 | 93-109 | 0.853 | 110-231 | 0.476 | 21-74 | 0.284 |
| Significant Contributors (20-24% of possessions used) | ||||||||||||||||
| Elijah Wilson | 6'4 | 205 | So | 28 | 68.8 | 108.9 | 21.2 | 25.9 (355th) | 49.1 | 52.4 | 55-74 | 0.743 | 52-130 | 0.400 | 55-144 | 0.382 |
| Marcus Freeman | 6'8 | 245 | Jr | 21 | 24.2 | 109.9 | 20.4 | 17.7 | 54.5 | 55 | 20-37 | 0.541 | 36-66 | 0.545 | 0-0 | 0.000 |
| Role Players (16-2% of possessions used) | ||||||||||||||||
| Shivaughn Wiggins | 5'11 | 180 | So | 28 | 80.3 (311th) | 115.0 (223nd) | 18.1 | 16.4 | 49.5 | 55 | 94-137 | 0.686 | 76-159 | 0.478 | 16-43 | 0.372 |
| Badou Diagne | 6'7 | 220 | Jr | 28 | 70.4 | 105.7 | 19.1 | 18.5 | 55.2 (224th) | 57.7 (280th) | 47-68 | 0.691 | 73-139 | 0.525 | 25-61 | 0.410 |
| Colton Ray-St Cyr | 6'5 | 185 | So | 28 | 19.4 | 92.8 | 16.6 | 17.1 | 41.2 | 42.7 | 4-6 | 0.667 | 9-16 | 0.562 | 8-35 | 0.229 |