NCAA Tournament Part III-A: What are they?

Continuing the series of posts in my NCAA tournament preview, here is a look at FSU's first round match up with Wisconsin through the numbers. As always, I will be using Ken Pomeroy's wonderful and free site. Personally, Wisconsin doesn't scare me as a team, but Bo Ryan is a great coach.

Wisconsin is solid but not spectacular in almost all categories. They are the nations 27th best offense and 60th best defense. The fact that their offense is better than their defense is often obscured by their slow pace of play. On offense, they are average in almost all categories, except for turnovers. They are the 5th best team in the nation at protecting the ball. As for the components of their offense, the Badgers are more efficient from the three point line and the foul line than they are from two, though they are not exceptional from anywhere. The strength of their offense lies almost entirely in not committing turnovers.

Wisconsin's defensive numbers mirror their offensive numbers. They are average nearly everywhere, except for in regards to defensive rebounds, where they are the 5th best team in the country. They are, however, below average in terms of creating turnovers. They are slightly above average at limiting three point percentage, but they do give up a fair number of points from the foul line.

The overall picture is one of a conservative and consistent team. They play at a slow pace and do not allow teams to get points in transition (giving up offensive rebounds in the process). They are not explosive on offense, but they don't make mistakes either. If FSU plays well, the Seminoles should be able to win, but if they stumble, Wisconsin will be right there, ready to capitalize.