Wisconsin (4-3) will look to rebound from its abysmal performance at the Legends Classic last week and snap a two-game losing streak when it takes on NC State (5-2) in Raleigh tomorrow night as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
The Badgers got the better of the Wolfpack in last season’s matchup between these squads at the Kohl Center, pulling out a narrow 79-75 victory.
Both sides are coming off of losses in their most recent outings, with Wisconsin falling to New Mexico by nine last Tuesday and NC State by five to then-No.16 Memphis on Thursday in the Barclays Center Classic.
After how awful the Badgers looked at the Legends Classic, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that ESPN’s Basketball Power Index is giving them just a 39.9 percent shot at taking down the Wolfpack on the road tomorrow evening. Head coach Kevin Keatts boasts a talented roster with five players currently averaging double-figures and eight averaging over seven points per game.
Here are the three players on the other side who Badger fans should keep a close eye on throughout tonight’s contest.
C.J. Bryce – Guard
2019 stats: 16.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.9 spg, 54.3 FG%, 33.3 3P%
Bryce has been a massive addition to this NC State program since he opted to transfer and follow Keatts from UNC-Wilmington to Raleigh. After making an instant impact for the Wolfpack last year by starting 35 of 36 games and averaging 11.6 points and 4.6 rebounds while leading the team in steals, the 6-5 guard has been playing the best ball of his career this season.
The senior has been stuffing the stat sheet, leading NC State in scoring, rebounding, and steals and ranking second in assists. Bryce has without question been the team’s go-to bucket getter, scoring 16 or more points in five of the Wolfpack’s first seven games. However, he is coming off what may have been his worst outing of the season in last Thursday’s loss to Memphis, having only mustered seven points on 2-12 shooting from the floor.
Bryce had an excellent game in last season’s showdown between these programs, racking up 18 points (6-11 shooting) and seven rebounds.
Markell Johnson – Guard
2019 stats: 12.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.8 spg, 38.7 FG%, 22.2 3P%
The Wolfpack’s third-leading scorer this season, if Johnson can replicate the success he found against Wisconsin last year when he led all scorers with 21 points to go along with five assists, three rebounds and a steal, NC State will likely be sending the Badgers home with its third consecutive loss.
After trailing only Bryce in scoring average in 2018-19, Johnson’s production as a shooter has declined a bit so far this season. His average has dipped from 12.6 to 12.0, as have his shooting percentages from beyond the arc and the field overall. However, I would expect those numbers to get better sooner rather than later, as Johnson has proven to be a far more efficient player throughout his career than what he has shown so far this year. For example, he shot 42.2 percent from long range and 48.8 from the field last season.
He’s capable of being NC State’s top scorer on any given night, but where Johnson makes his biggest impact on the game is as a facilitator. His career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.11 ranks seventh in program history, and he actually led the ACC in assists per game in 2017-18. It’s been more of the same for Johnson this year, as his current average of 6.7 is No. 3 in the conference and No. 13 nationally.
DJ Funderburk – Forward
2019 stats: 12.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 1.0 spg, 70.0 FG%,
Funderburk finished in a tie for second in the ACC Sixth Man of the Year voting last season, and based on his production so far in 2019, he looks to once again be a top contender to take home the award this time around.
He may not start or play the type of heavy minutes that Bryce and Johnson do (he has only averaged 21 per game to this point in the season), but Funderburk sure does make the most of them. For example, despite playing more than ten fewer minutes per contest than Johnson, the 6-10 big man boasts the same scoring average right now.
Funderburk has only shot the ball from the field 30 times in the five games he’s played since missing the first two with a suspension, but he’s made 21 of them. His efficiency isn’t a fluke, either: his he led the Wolfpack in field goal percentage a year ago at 55.2 percent, and his two-point percentage of 59.5 was fifth in the ACC. Funderburk also takes advantage of his trips to the line as a career 77.1 percent shooter from the charity stripe.