Wisconsin (20-14) vs. North Texas (29-7)

Game: Tuesday, March 27 inside Orleans Arena (Las Vegas)

Time: 6:00 P.M. CT

Watch: ESPN/ESPN+

Listen: 1310 WIBA AM and 101.5 FM (Matt Lepay and Mike Lucas on the call); stream online on iHeartRadio

Prediction: North Texas 57, Wisconsin 55

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting Line: North Texas -1.5

It's not the Final Four, but it is a Final Four.

Wisconsin advanced to the NIT semifinals with a gutsy win over Oregon on the road last Tuesday. With Oregon's length causing the Badgers big problems on offense, Max Klesmit and Chucky Hepburn each hit a clutch three late in the game to propel Wisconsin past the Ducks.

Now, Wisconsin is set to face the Mean Green of North Texas for the right to play for an NIT championship. Hailing from Conference USA, which just sent Florida Atlantic University to the NCAA Final Four, North Texas is not to be trifled with as simply a mid-major program.

“When you run into these mid-major teams, the basketball is still the same," Tyler Wahl said. "You’re still going to have a pretty decent coach you’re going up against. Maybe not the tallest guys, but everyone out there knows how to play basketball and has been playing basketball for a while. They got to this level, and I don’t really see a dip in anything high major (or) mid-major.”

North Texas is a particularly daunting mid-major team. They essentially rolled through their conference, save for a couple of losses to the aforementioned Final Four-bound FAU Owls. Despite their below-average size, they boast an elite defense and one of the best closers in the nation in guard Tylor Perry.

The Mean Green are top-20 in the nation in defensive two-point percentage allowed, three-point percentage allowed and effective field goal percentage allowed, according to KenPom. Their defense is coordinated and runs like a well-oiled machine.

North Texas is led by Perry, the Conference USA Player of the Year. He averages 17.3 points, and is simply a scoring machine. He shoots a very efficient 43.4 percent from the field, including an elite 41.9 percent from three. All told, he's made a staggering 106 three pointers this season. For context, Connor Essegian leads the Badgers with 67 made threes.

Perry is also dynamite in late-game situations. He shoots even better in crunch time, and also has ice in his veins at the free-throw line. In all likelihood, this game will come down to how well the Badgers defend Perry in the final minutes of the second half.

“He’s really, really good,” Hepburn confirmed. “He has the ultimate green light. His confidence is really high. I think we just have to lock down on him, and we know they are really good on defense. We have to make them work every possession.”

Besides Perry, one of the reasons North Texas has played so well offensively is their extremely deliberate pace. They won't force up bad shots early in a possession. Their tempo ranks 363 of 363 division one teams, per KenPom. They also have the longest average possession length at 21.3 seconds.

Wisconsin also plays at one of the slowest paces in college basketball, so expect this game to be a chess match. All signs point to a low-scoring, low possession game.

It may not be the tournament they set out to play in, but Wisconsin has learned plenty about themselves over the course of three NIT wins. If they manage to knock off the Mean Green, they'll face the winner of Utah Valley and UAB, who play immediately after the Badgers on Tuesday night.

_________________________________________________

*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den

*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel

*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)

*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45, @pete_brey12, @seamus_rohrer

*Like us on Facebook