Four things to know about Wisconsin Badgers' NCAA Tournament first round opponent

MADISON, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin is about to see the mirrored version of itself at the mid-major level.

High Point, the Badgers' Thursday opponent in the NCAA Tournament, isn't afraid to get up and down the floor and score at a high volume with a transfer guard who impacts winning. Scout team prep work should be pretty easy for the Badgers in preparing for the school's first meeting against High Point and the first against a team from the Big South since 2012.

Here are four things to know about the 12th-seeded Panthers.

Let’s go dancin’ on the west coast 🕺#GoHPU x #OnTheProwl pic.twitter.com/6F39peP6ij
— HPU Men's Basketball (@HPUMBB) March 15, 2026

Like Nick Boyd, Rob Martin is an impact transfer for High Point

As the Panthers' starting point guard, Rob Martin has appeared in 33 games after transferring from SEMO this past summer. He finished second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.3 points per game to go along with 3.67 assists per game. He posted a 2.4 assist/turnover ratio, which ranked second in the Big South.

After the Big South regular-season, Martin was named the Big South Newcomer of the Year and to the All-Conference team. Following the Big South Championship, Martin was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 19.3 points and 5.0 assists to guide HPU to its second NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

Martin is named a finalist along with 29 other Division 1 players for the 2025-26 Riley Wallace award, presented annually to the most impactful transfer in Division I college basketball. As if Boyd needed more motivation, he was not named as a finalist for that award.

The Panthers like to move and score

High Point's metrics are what is expected from a mid-major team, ranking 92nd in KenPom, 66th in adjusted offensive efficiency, and 161st in adjusted defensive efficiency. The one standout is tempo, as High Point ranks 49th in the country in adjusted tempo with 69.9 possessions per 40 minutes. That's the same average as BYU and slightly slower than Campbell.

The number of possessions has helped High Point average 90 points per game, tied for third in the country with Arkansas and behind Alabama (91.7) and Miami (OH) (90.7). High Point is 15-0 this season when reaching 90 points.

In addition to scoring, the Panthers ranked in the top 25 in multiple areas during the regular season: first in steals per game (11.1) and turnover margin (7.5), second in fastbreak points (19.16), third in scoring margin (20.3) and turnovers forced (16.77), fourth in free throws made (20.0), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.78), 17th in effective field goal percentage (57.1%), and 20th in field goal percentage (49.6%).

High Point has pilled up the wins

Knocking off Winthrop, 91-76, in the Big South Championship game was the 30th win of the season for the Panthers, breaking the program and conference record of 29 wins set by High Point last season and Winthrop in 2006-07. High Point is one of six schools to win 30 games this season and one of only two mid-major programs (Miami (OH) is the other).

The Panthers become the first Big South team to win back-to-back tournament championships since Winthrop from 2019-21. Head Coach Flynn Clayman becomes the first head coach in Big South history to win the Big South Championship in his first-year since 1998-99.

High Point has yet to be tested

The Panthers didn't play a power-conference opponent all season and didn't compete in a Quad-1 game. Moreover, High Point lost its only two Quad-2 games this season by 17 at UAB (No.118) and by 17 at Winthrop (131). High Point also went 5-2 in Quad-3 games. Twenty-two of High Point's wins came in Quad-4.