No.14 Montana (25-9, 15-3 Big Sky) vs. No.3 Wisconsin (26-9, 13-7 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Thursday, March 20, 12:30 p.m.

Arena – Denver's Ball Arena (19,099)

Television – TNT (Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood and Dana Jacobson)

Radio – Westwood One (Kevin Kugler and Austin Croshere), Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 210 or 203, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 3-0 (Wisconsin leads 2-0 in neutral sites)

Last Meeting – Wisconsin won, 73-49, on March 15, 2012, in Albuquerque, N.M.

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -18

Player to Watch: Crowl finished the regular season with six straight games scoring in double figures. The Badgers are 51-18 when he scores 10+. The fifth-year senior has played in four NCAA tournament games, averaging 5.7 ppg and 5.7 rpg in his three starts. He posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. James Madison in 2024.

Player to watch: Montana had three players named to the Big Sky Conference All-Tournament team, highlighted by Whitney being named the tournament's most valuable player. Whitney led Montana in scoring over the three games, averaging 16.3 points on 72.0 percent shooting. He also averaged 2.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists. Whitney scored 24 points in the Second Round win over Northern Arizona, sparking Montana to victory with 20 second-half points.

Since 2002, the Badgers have gone 16-4 in opening round NCAA tournament games. Overall, Wisconsin is 18-7 in the Round of 64.

Under head coach Greg Gard, the Badgers are 4-2 in opening round NCAA tournament games, defeating (10) Pitt in 2016, (9) Virginia Tech in 2017, (8) North Carolina in 2021, and (14) Colgate in 2022.

Wisconsin is 11-1 in their last 12 NCAA Tournament openers against mid-major opponents dating back to 2003.

UW has won 15 NCAA tournament games since 2014, trailing only Michigan (18) and Michigan State (17) for the most among Big Ten teams and 10th-most nationally during that span.

Since 2000, UW has won 35 NCAA tournament games, the second-highest total in the B1G and the 10th-highest mark in the NCAA.

This is the thirrd time UW has been a No. 3, going 3-2 all-time from that slot. » In 2008, the Badgers knocked off No. 14 Cal-State Fullerton and No. 11 Kansas State before falling to Steph Curry and 10th-seeded Davidson in the Sweet 16. In 2022, Wisconsin toppled No. 14 Colgate before falling to No. 11 Iowa State in the second round.

Wisconsin is 3-0 all-time against No. 14 seeds, winning by an average of 10.3 ppg. The most recent meeting came in a 67-60 win over Colgate in the opening round of 2022.

The Badgers are 2-0 against the Big Sky Conference in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Weber State, 81-74, in the 2003 first round and Montana in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Wisconsin has averaged 79.7 points per game, which would rank seventh in UW history and the highest since scoring 80.0 ppg in 1971-72. UW finished second in the Big Ten in scoring during conference play, averaging 79.5 ppg.

Wisconsin is averaging 70.5 possessions per game, which would register as its fastest pace in at least 30 years.

Wisconsin ranks 13th in the nation in offensive efficiency per KenPom. UW's mark of 122.0 would rank as the school's 3rd-highest mark in the KenPom era (1997).

Wisconsin led the Big Ten averaging 10.3 3FGs per game during conference play. The Badgers also ranked 5th shooting 35.9 percent from deep during league play. UW is on pace to shoot (28.4 3FGA) and make (9.9 3FG) more threes than ever since the inception of the 3-point line in 1986-87.

During conference play, the Badgers ranked fifth in the B1G in scoring defense (71.5 ppg) and third in field goal percentage defense (42.6 percent).

Montana is one of just 14 teams in the country that has been .500 or better in 16 straight seasons. They extended that streak to 17 seasons with the win over Northern Colorado on Feb. 6. Montana has had just one losing season in the last 20 years and just five losing seasons in the previous half-century. Since 1970, Montana has gone .500 or better 48 times.

This will be the second time this season Montana has faced an opponent ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll. The Grizzlies have lost 18 straight games against ranked opponents, including the 92-57 loss at #11 Tennessee back on Nov. 13. The last win for Montana against a ranked opponent was also its last NCAA Tournament win. The Grizzlies beat No.20 Nevada 87-79 in a First Round game in 2006.

Montana is shooting 50.2 percent from the floor this season, the second-best percentage in the entire country. They are one of only two teams that have made at least half of their attempts from the field entering the NCAA Tournament, and the only team that reached the tournament to do so.

In games decided by single digits this season, Montana is 15-3. Montana is 6-2 in games decided by 1-4 points, and 9-1 in games decided by 5-9 points. In Big Sky play they had even more success in close games. Montana went 10-1 in games decided by single digits.

Montana’s nine losses have come against opponents with a combined record of 204-90 (.694). Every loss has come to a team with a winning record, and eight of them have at least 19 wins. Six of the non-power four teams are in the top three of their respective conferences with Oregon and Tennessee also in the mix. Montana went 17-0 in Quad 4 games this season, the fourth most wins in the country.

Montana played three NCAA Tournament teams in its challenging nonconference schedule and came away empty-handed. The Grizzlies lost November road games at Oregon, Tennessee, and Utah State by a combined 88 points. Moore didn't play at the start of the season as he recovered from shoulder surgery. His playing might not have made a difference then, but it has certainly made an impact on the Grizzlies since.

During Montana's 10-game conference win streak, Moore shot 50 percent from three and led the team in minutes. To shake things up more, Montana swapped Kai Johnson into the starting lineup for Money Williams. They are 13-1 since that change, as Williams won the Top Reserve Award in the Big Sky Conference after averaging 14.5 points per game and has shot 20-of-50 (.400) from three-point range off the bench. He was also 2nd on the team in rebounding in those games with 5.3 per game.

Johnson was Montana's second-leading scorer after re-entering the lineup, averaging 12.8 points per game on 55.2 percent shooting and 36.4 percent from the arc. He also averaged 3.3 rebounds with 19 assists.

"We're not the same team we were back then," Johnson said of the early Power Conference losses. "Having (Moore) is huge, but just as a team, we've changed how we run our offense, how we share the ball and how we play defense together and not just individually. I think as a collective, we've just grown tenfold since then and we're a completely different team."

Wisconsin dove into the Montana film on Tuesday night and Crowl wasn't surprised by what he saw. While the Grizzlies are undersized with no starter over 6-foot-8, Montana has a lot of shooters. It ranks second in the country in field goal percentage (.502) and had a balanced offense with six players scoring at least 20 in a game and no player leading Montana in scoring more than nine times.

"From what we saw they play really hard," Crowl said. "They're a really talented team. I don't know how many they rattled off during the season but I think it was double digits. I think it's more about us than anything, and that's not just against Montana; that's against whoever we play. We are just more focused on us and where we can get better."

Wisconsin has advantages across the board, so like Crowl said, it really comes down to if the Badgers can play with the offensive efficiency it has for the majority of the year and the defensive intensity it brought during the Big Ten Tournament.

Considering the veteran leadership of this team and the sting of last year's early exit, it would be shocking if they didn't.

Worgull’s Prediction: Wisconsin by 17

Record: 26-9 (24-11 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 290 (8.3 per game)

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