By the numbers: Wisconsin and Iowa State season comparison

The Wisconsin Badgers and Iowa State Cyclones will meet Sunday afternoon in Milwaukee as part of the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

While the Badgers are considered a three-point favorite heading into the contest, this is March Madness, and the Cyclones have some excellent guards that will test Wisconsin's backcourt.

As part of our ongoing set of previews for the big game, let's take a look at how the two teams compare based on numbers alone.

I’m case your weren’t up at 3am…here are the postgame quotes and notes from a wild night in Milwaukee for the #Badgers https://t.co/Rs1ZY61y6p
— Matt Belz (@savedbythebelz) March 19, 2022

3 vs. 11 seed

Wisconsin is the No. 3 in the Midwest region after winning a share of the Big Ten with a 15-5 mark inside the conference. The Badgers have a 27-5 overall record following their opening round win over Colgate.
Iowa State is the No. 11 seed in the region and finished seventh in the Big 12 with a record under .500 conference. Overall, the Cyclones hold a 21-12 record after upsetting LSU in the first round.

19.8 versus 17.2 points

Johnny Davis is the top player for the Badgers, and he comes into the contest averaging 19.8 points per game and 8.2 rebounds. He is a consensus first-team All-American and is a candidate for National Player of the Year.
Izaiah Brockington is the best player for Iowa State. The 6-foot-4 guard leads the Cyclones with 17.2 points and 7.4 rebounds on a per-game basis.

35 rebounds

Wisconsin may have a slight advantage in the rebounding department. The Badgers average 35 rebounds per game and snag a little over nine offensive rebounds on average.

Iowa State on the other hand averages just over 31 rebounds per game, and actually has a negative rebounding margin for the season.

16.5 points off turnovers

The Badgers have been one of the nation's best teams in terms of turnovers this season, averaging only 8.4 turnovers this season. Wisconsin has a +1.3 assist to turnover ratio, and average 11.9 points off of turnovers per game.
Iowa State turns the ball over a bit more at 13.7 per game but is adept at forcing turnovers. The Cyclones average 8.6 steals and 16.5 points off turnovers per game.

Wisconsin is 25-7 this year and has actually shot a worse FG% and 3P% than their opponents overall.

Their ability to limit turnovers and get to the FT line has been outstanding, and last night the #Badgers only turned it over 5 times against and scored 15 points off turnovers.
— Matt Belz (@savedbythebelz) March 19, 2022

43.8% shooting

Wisconsin is one of the rare teams with a strong record despite actually shooting a worse field goal percentage (42.5%) and three-point percentage (31.3%) than their opponents.
Iowa State is a slightly better shooting team at 43.1% from the floor and 32.2% from long-range. The Cyclones do shoot remarkably well at the charity stripe, but average five fewer free throw attempts per game than the Badgers though.

24

Wisconsin ranks No. 24 in the NET with the following records across the four quadrants of college basketball:

Quad 1	Quad 2	Quad 3	Quad 4
9-3 record	7-2 record	4-2 record	4-0 record

Iowa State is the No. 49 ranked team according to the NET with the following quadrant records

Quad 1	Quad 2	Quad 3	Quad 4
9-8 record	1-4 record	2-0 record	8-0 record

*NET rankings and records all prior to NCAA Tournament*