5 first round NCAA Tournament games with NBA Draft implications

2. Wisconsin vs. Oregon

The biggest name in this matchup will be watching this game from the bench as Bol Bol continues to recover from a foot injury he suffered earlier in the year. In his absence, Oregon will still roll out Kenny Wooten, Louis King, Paul White, and Payton Pritchard on Friday evening. The Ducks underperformed all year in relation to preseason expectations, but with one route left to get into the NCAA Tournament, Oregon made an impressive run through the Pac 12 Tournament and earned themselves a spot amongst the 68.

King and White look as if they were molded in a 3-and-D factory — with neither really playing that particular role currently. Pritchard, on the other hand, is a consummate floor general who likely maxes out as a TJ McConnell type. Wooten is a small-ball center who has been big as a rim protector for Oregon.

Going up against Wooten is Wisconsin’s star, Ethan Happ. Happ is by no means an athlete, but he has a bag of tricks with his back to the basket that looks like they were taken right from the 1980s. Not only does Happ posses a great post game, but he also can operate as the primary playmaker for an offense. Happ’s game doesn’t really stretch further out than 12-15 feet, but he is effective with the ball in his hands regardless. The Badgers style of slowing game downs and taking the air out of the ball don’t make them an entertaining team, but Happ alone is worth the watch. If you can make it through that, there are some intriguing things about Happ to look for.