The NCAA Tournament continues on Saturday with third round action. In the East Region we will see the No. 5 seed Vanderbilt Commodores take on the No. 4 seed Wisconsin Badgers. The game is scheduled for a 6:10 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on TNT. Currently the odds have Vanderbilt favored by 1 point with the total sitting at 121 points for the contest. The East Region competition heats up in third-round action, as perennial tournament contender and No. 4 seed Wisconsin squares off against the upstart fifth-seeded Vanderbilt Commodores at The Pit in Albuquerque.
Free Analysis: Wisconsin posted the most lopsided win in its NCAA Tournament history Thursday, cruising past 13th-seed Montana with a 73-49 victory. The Badgers' heralded defense did a number on the Grizzlies, holding them to 38.3 percent shooting overall and a mere 29.4-percent mark in the second half. Junior Jared Berggren punctuated those numbers with a career-high seven blocks. UW was up 10 at the break after landing 51.9 percent of its field goals in the first half and drained half of its 12 three-point attempts over the opening stanza, ending 10-of-19 from beyond the arc. The Badgers' formula for success has hardly wavered over the years under Ryan's guidance, with defense at the forefront of every gameplan. It's no surprise then that UW's defense was not only the best in the Big Ten but tops in the nation among 345 teams, stifling the opposition's attack to the tune of 52.8 points per game. Wisconsin is also among the top-10 teams in the country in field-goal percentage defense at 38.3 percent. Incredibly, the Big Ten features four of the top-16 teams in the country in scoring margin with the Badgers slotting in fourth among their league counterparts at plus-11.4. Wisconsin's offense is a bit of a question mark in ranking near the bottom of the Big Ten in scoring (64.1 ppg) and field-goal percentage (42.5 percent). Taylor is the Badgers' top performer at 14.7 ppg while standing sixth in the Big Ten with 4.1 assists per game.Evans leads the team in rebounding with 6.9 per game and posts 11.1 ppg, while Berggren gives UW a trio of double-digit scoring options at 10.3 ppg and adds 4.9 boards. After beating No. 1 Kentucky in the SEC tournament, the Commodores entered the NCAA tournament with as much momentum as any team in the country. That confidence showed down the stretch Thursday as Vanderbilt held off a late charge with some poise on the defensive end and at the free throw line. The Commodores turned a page of sorts after being bounced from the field in three straight opening-round contests despite entering as the higher seed. This year's team is as tough a veteran group as there is in the 2012 field, with junior John Jenkins providing Vandy with a game-high 27 points in Thursday's triumph. Senior Brad Tinsley registered 16 points and four assists while Jeffery Taylor netted 15. Vanderbilt has the SEC's top two scorers in Jenkins and Taylor. The veteran duo are as impressive as any in the country, with Jenkins topping out at 20.1 points per game and Taylor adding a cool 16.3 ppg. Not to be outdone, Ezeli checks in with 9.9 ppg and leads the team in field-goal percentage (53.2 percent). The Commodores were one of the better offensive teams in the country in the regular season, averaging 73.0 points, and shot 54.3 percent from the floor against the Crimson, but defensively they have been avergae at best as they have allowed 65.1 ppg on the year. Wisconsin has reached as far as the Sweet 16 five times and the Elite Eight twice, advancing to the Final Four in 2000 where it fell to Michigan State. The Badgers' only other run to the Final Four in 18 all-time appearances came in 1941 when they captured the program's lone national title. UW fell to Butler in the regional semifinals of last year's tournament. This is the Commodores' 13th appearance in the Big Dance with their record now standing at 10-13 following Thursday's win. The program has gotten as far as the Elite Eight on one occasion in 1965 and has reached the Sweet 16 four times, the last in 2007.
Free Pick: Vanderbilt Just played a defensive minded, slow down the pace ball club in Harvard and the two teams put up 149 points. Vanderbilt averages 73.1 ppg on the year and 72.2 ppg away from home, plus they shoot the ball really well as they have hit 46.1% of their shots, including a solid 39.1% from long range. Vanderbilt has been pretty solid on defense down the stretch, but they still allow 65.4 ppg overall and 68.4 ppg away from home, plus they did allow Harvard 70 points in their last game. Wisconsin has started to play better offensively as they have hit 70+ points in 3 of their last 4 games, after not hitting 70 points since back in mid January. Defensively we know how strong the Badgers are and they did play well vs Montana, but I really don't expect them to shut the door on this solid Vanderbilt offense. Both offenses are playing really well right now and that should make for a game in the 130's.
Betting Strategy - NCAA Bracket Picking Tips
Pregame host RJ Bell and Pregame Pro Marco D'Angelo discuss the NCAA Bracket Picking rules, and the rules you should NOT break, and give their insights on how to setup the best NCAA March Madness bracket.