Lahaina Civic Center – Maui, HI
Tip-off: Tuesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: Wisconsin -5.5

#16 Wisconsin will be looking to advance to the Finals of the Maui Invitational with a win over Georgetown.

The Badgers were a bit stunned by their loss to Creighton last week, but they have responded with two straight victories. Wisconsin beat Chicago State 69-51 at home on Nov. 17, and the team followed it up with a 74-62 win as a 12.5-point favorite over Tennessee in the first round of this tournament on Monday. The Badgers had some lapses of miserable play in that game, but they ultimately shot 56.2% from the floor and have a winnable game coming up here. Georgetown was able to defeat Oregon 65-61 as a nine-point underdog in the first round of this tournament, but the team has had a disappointing start to the season. The Hoyas lost back-to-back games against Maryland and Arkansas State before heading to Maui, and they need to fix some things moving forward. Most of their issues come on the offensive end of the court, as they have shot less than 42% from the floor in three straight games. One thing they do have going for them is the fact that they beat Wisconsin 71-61 as 1.5-point underdogs at Madison Square Garden last November. The teams have split wins SU over the past three years, but Georgetown is 2-0 ATS in those contests. Wisconsin, however, is an impressive 12-2 ATS when facing teams that make 77% of its free throws or better since 1997.

Wisconsin had its struggles against Tennessee last game, as the Badgers blew an early seven-point lead and ended up falling behind at one point in the second half. They ended up pulling themselves together, though, and the “big three” of G Bronson Koenig (17.0 PPG), F Nigel Hayes (12.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.0 BPG) and F Ethan Happ (9.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 1.8 SPG) got hot in the win. The three of them combined to score 54 points on 19-for-30 shooting from the field in that game. Hayes was the most dominant of the three, as he also added 10 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 32 minutes of action. He’ll be counted on to provide on both ends of the floor against Georgetown, but Happ is actually going to be the most important player for the Badgers on Tuesday. Happ is one of the best post players in the country, but Wisconsin really struggles when he fails to get it going. Happ looked uncomfortable against Creighton and that was a big reason the Badgers lost that one. He’ll need to get things started early against Georgetown, and he can’t look back from there.

Georgetown is coming off of a big win over Oregon, and G Rodney Pryor (19.8 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG) kept up his excellent play for the Hoyas. A transfer from Robert Morris, Pryor is shooting 55.8% from the floor and a ridiculous 46.2% from three. That outside shooting accuracy is even crazier when considering the fact that he is attempting 6.5 threes per game. He’ll need to have a big game against Wisconsin or it’ll be tough for Georgetown to win. Another guy that will need to play well is his backcourt partner, G L.J. Peak (17.5 PPG, 1.8 SPG). The backcourt of this Hoyas team is a strength, which is odd for a program that is known for its dominant big men. Peak had a solid all-around game against Oregon, going for 17 points with six rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block. He’ll need to play well on both ends of the floor again in this one. As for the Hoyas’ big men, they’re just going to need to rebound and stay out of foul trouble. They do not want to give the Badgers any confidence by putting them on the line.