Here’s how to watch Thursday’s East Region First Round game between the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers and No. 9 Virginia Tech Hokies online.
The Wisconsin Badgers and Virginia Tech Hokies will begin their respective NCAA Tournament campaigns with an intriguing East Region First Round 8/9 matchup on Thursday night in Buffalo.
Greg Gard will likely not be too happy to receive an eight seed after Wisconsin finished second in the Big Ten at 25-9 overall. The Badgers stumbled late in the regular season, but bounced back with easy wins over Indiana and Northwestern in the conference tournament to reach the Big Ten Championship Game, where it fell to red-hot Michigan.
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As always, Wisconsin is tough for opposing offenses to crack with the No. 8 unit in adjusted defensive efficiency per Ken Pomeroy, and allows teams to shoot just 41 percent on 2-point attempts to counteract its own offensive struggles at times. Ethan Happ has a strong argument as the best defensive player in the nation and piled up 13.9 points plus 9.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.1 blocks per contest this season.
Thursday’s game begins at 9:40 p.m. ET on CBS, with full streaming details below.
Date: Thursday, March 16
Start Time: 9:40 p.m. ET
Location: Buffalo, NY
Stadium: First Niagara Center
TV Info: CBS
Live Stream: March Madness live
Third-year head coach Buzz Williams has the Hokies dancing for the first time since 2007 with an overall record of 22-10. Virginia Tech went a solid 10-8 in ACC play with wins over Duke and Virginia, in addition to a nonconference road triumph at Michigan to earn an at-large as a nine seed.
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The Hokies own the nation’s No.21 offense in adjusted efficiency per KenPom and shoot 49 percent from the field as a team. Seth Allen can fill it up in a hurry and is shooting 45.5 percent from the perimeter himself alongside leading scorer Zach LeDay.