March Madness: the three keys for Wisconsin against Colgate in the first round

The Wisconsin Badgers will tip-off against Colgate on Friday at 8:50 p.m. CST as part of the first round of the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region, Wisconsin has a favorable path with their first two games scheduled to take place in Milwaukee.

The Badgers will first need to get by the Colgate Raiders, who won the Patriot League title this season, if they want to advance to the second round.

While Wisconsin is an early seven-point favorite heading into the game, Colgate is a team that could test the Badgers in multiple different ways.

In an attempt to preview Friday's contest, here are three components of the game that could determine if the Badgers survive.

Perimeter defense

Colgate loves to shoot three-pointers. The Raiders rank No. 8 in three-point attempts on the year and average nearly 25 per game. More concerning though is how efficient Colgate is from beyond the arc. The Raiders rank No. 2 in college basketball with a 40% three-point percentage.

To take away Colgate's ability to knock down threes, Wisconsin will need to communicate well, close out hard on shooters, and navigate defensive switches effectively. Wisconsin has a size and athletic ability advantage, so forcing Colgate to put the ball on the floor and not be able to set up easy threes is paramount.

Fortunately, Friday's matchup is not the first time that the Badgers will have gone against strong three-point shooting teams this season. Wisconsin managed to sweep both Purdue and Iowa this year. Purdue ranks No. 4 in three-point percentage (also top-20 in terms of three-point volume), and Iowa ranks ahead of Colgate in three-point attempts.

While Colgate presents a tough challenge based on their three-point shooting acumen, the Badgers have gone against teams equally adept from deep and played well on the defensive end.

Just a couple of impressive dunks from Johnny Davis. The first one probably stands out to most people more, but I really like seeing him cut off-the-ball in the second clip and finish at the rim with the dunk pic.twitter.com/2cddi2Tjpf
— Zach Milner (@ZachMilner13) March 9, 2022

Get Johnny Davis going

Johnny Davis was not nearly as effective against Michigan State in the Big Ten Tournament. The sophomore All-American appeared to be pressing at times, and with a sore ankle, he was unable to explode to the rim with the same gusto as usual.

A week removed from the tournament loss, and Johnny Davis is inching closer to 100%, which is good news for the Badgers.

There might not be a more important player to his team than Davis is to Wisconsin, and Colgate does not have a player of his talent level to stop him.

If Davis can return to form and get back to stringing together 20-point performances, the Badgers are a much scarier team for both Colgate and the entire Midwest Region.

Days after becoming just the third AP first-team All-American in program history and the fourth Big Ten Player of the Year it is time for Davis to shine.

Stay out of foul trouble and convert at the FT line

A recurring theme in Wisconsin's losses this season is foul trouble. The Badgers do not go deep on their bench and tend to get little production from their reserves. So when their big men need to sit due to fouls, the team suffers.

Chris Vogt has given the team a lift at times, but Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl are extremely important for the Badgers. Crowl allows Wisconsin to stretch the floor with his three-point shooting, and Wahl is an inside scoring threat and defensive menace. Keeping Crowl and Wahl out of foul trouble is imperative on Friday because both players provide the Badgers with some extra firepower on offense.

In addition to navigating foul concerns, Wisconsin will need to shoot better at the free-throw line on Friday night. Missed opportunities at the charity stripe came back to bite Wisconsin against Michigan State. The Badgers were only 12-of-21 from the line despite shooting 74% for the season.

Wisconsin needs to not only get to the line against Colgate but also convert.

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