Preview: Wisconsin kicks off NCAA tournament with battle against UNC

Wisconsin (17-12, 10-10) vs. North Carolina (18-10, 10-6)

Game: Friday, March 19 inside Mackey Arena (West Lafayette, Indiana)

Time: 6:10 CT

Watch: CBS (Ian Eagle and Jim Spanarkel)

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

Line: Wisconsin +1.5

Prediction: Wisconsin 72, North Carolina 67

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Here we go.

Wisconsin, which has been off for a week after a loss to Iowa in the Big Ten tournament on March 12, begins NCAA tournament play with a date against North Carolina.

After losing five of their previous seven contests, this will be a welcome sight outside of the Big Ten for the Badgers. Only problem: UNC's head coach Roy Williams is an incredible 29-0 in the first round.

In what was a down year for the Tar Heels, the program finished sixth in the ACC but ended the season winners of three in a row until falling to Florida State in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.

Leading the way for North Carolina is sophomore Armando Bacot, who is part of a talented front-court and an overall rotation that goes 10 deep. The 6-foot-10 forward leads his team in scoring (12.2), rebounding (8.0) and blocks (0.9). When Bacot finishes in double figures, the Tar Heels are 14-5.

Bacot, one of four Tar Heels in the rotation who stand 6-foot-10 or taller, is certainly not the only big body down low for the Badgers to fend off. Greg Gard hasn't played Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers together much since January, but the two may have to share the floor Friday evening. UNC leads the nation in offensive rebounding with 15.9 per game and is third in the nation with 43.2 rebounds per contest.

In the backcourt, North Carolina is headlined by three freshmen at guard. Caleb Love leads the team in assists (3.6) and is the second leading scorer (10.5). He also leads the team with 3.3 turnovers per contest. In contrast to Wisconsin's 8.9 turnovers a game, UNC is 276th in the country with 14.8 turnovers per contest. Joining him in the backcourt is classmate Kerwin Walton, who averages 8.2 points a game and shoots 41.5 percent from beyond the arc.

"This is a talented group, but they’ve been inconsistent all season and have had huge issues not just turning over the ball, but doing so in manners that lead to easy baskets for opponents," TarHeelsIllustrated publisher Andrew Jones told BadgerBlitz.com. "UNC recently went through a four-game stretch where it turned over the ball 80 times leading to 95 opponents’ points. It can be that ugly at times."

The first-round matchup marks the fifth meeting between the two programs, with UNC leading the series, 3-1. The game will take place inside Mackey Arena where Wisconsin is just 4-42 all-time.