Some of the trickiest matchups to pick when filling out brackets for the NCAA tournament are those annoying No. 8 vs. No. 9 seed games of the first round. One of those on Thursday night, between the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers and the No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies, looks like it’ll be a good game.
How to watch Virginia Tech vs. Wisconsin online, time, and live TV schedule
We’ve got a Big Ten-ACC matchup in the first round on Thursday night.
Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
OddsShark currently lists Wisconsin as just a 4.5-point favorite. The Badgers finished second in the Big Ten and went on to lose to Michigan in the conference tournament championship game. The Hokies lost to Florida State in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament, but they have marquee regular season wins over Duke, North Carolina, and Virginia, who all made the field of 68 as Top-5 seeds.
VT’s Zach LeDay leads the Hokies in both points per game and rebounds, averaging 16 and seven, respectively. Wisconsin forward Ethan Happ averages 14 points, nine rebounds and three assists per game.
How to watch
Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Live stream: You can live stream it here
In a Q&A session with SB Nation’s Jawhar Ali from Gobbler Country and Mike Fiammetta from Bucky’s 5th Quarter, Ali says Wisconsin presents a unique matchup for the Hokies on Thursday night.
Wisconsin was not the draw the Hokies wanted. The Badgers have shown to be an excellent defensive team this season which coincides with the Hokies’ greatest strength on offense. Having said that, the Hokies have been one of the best three-point shooting teams in the nation. During conference play, Virginia Tech has made an absurd 41.4 percent of its deep attempts. Wisconsin, as you know, has allowed teams to shoot well against it from the perimeter this season. The other key part of this matchup is rebounding. Wisconsin is one of the best rebounding teams in the country with a 54.6 percent total rebound rate and does an excellent job on the offensive glass. The Hokies love to play small ball, which means their tallest player on the floor is Zach LeDay, who stands at 6’6. Ethan Happ could have a field day down low even though LeDay is one of the two best players on the Hokies. How to watch
Print out your own bracket to fill out before all the games tip off here.
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