#11 Georgia vs. #22 Wisconsin

#11 Georgia
G Louis Williams G Jarvis Hayes F Josh Smith F Shareef Abdur-Rahim C Dwight Howard

#22 Wisconsin
G Travis Diener G Devin Harris G Anthony Carter F Caron Butler C Chris Mihm

Georgia has a nice little team that could surprise some people. Williams might be the best player you've never heard of, an extremely quick slasher who has been a big part of the 76er resurgence this winter. Hayes is a nice piece, a great shooter who can defend wings well. Smith is an athletic enigma, who is capable of leading the league in blocks or steals, and could be a truly gifted rebounder, but who you don't really trust to score when you need a bucket and seems destined to be a good stats on a bad team guy for his whole career. Shareef is near the end, but he can still score and defend in the post. Howard, of course, is the next great big man. He's taken a massive leap forward this year, so he won't look quite as good in this tournament. Pick and rolls with Williams and Howard, with occasional dumps to Rahim in the post and Hayes in the corner three point position, will be the standard Georgia offense, with Smith cleaning up the garbage.

Wisconsin is undersized across the board. Diener is a good shooter, but tiny and can't get to the rim. Harris is a little overrated; he's a very good defender, but doesn't shoot as well as you'd like and struggles with quicker point guards. Carter is a classic pass-first point guard who can't shoot straight. If you're counting, that's three point guards so far for Wisconsin. Butler is having a great season, and is a borderline All-Star every year. He's above average at every skill but his only exceptional attributes are toughness and heart. Mihm nears the end, but he's still seven feet tall, and he still makes that twelve footer from the side.

Team: Georgia
Wins: 916
PPG: 102.11
RPG: 66.82
APG: 18.47
TPG: 21.87

Team: Wisconsin
Wins: 84
PPG: 82.05
RPG: 24.31
APG: 23.23
TPG: 15.24

Not a close result. The size advantage for Georgia is overwhelming, with a sixty-two rebound advantage. And unlike in the last game, Georgia has enough ballhandlers to defeat any gimmick defenses and end possessions with Howard dunks. Actually, a lot of possessions are going to end with Howard dunks, since he'll be too much in the post for Mihm. If Rahim has anything left, he's got a big size advantage over Butler and Georgia could also force double teams or get easy baskets by posting him up. Finally, Josh Smith is 6'10" and just as quick as any of the point guards from Wisconsin that will be trying to guard him. Georgia in a walk.

Georgia next plays on 4/3.
Next: #6 Illinois vs. #29 South Carolina
Full Bracket Here.