Mauri Invitation Final: 4 North Carolina vs 16 Wisconsin Player Ratings

Player ratings are out of 10.0. Team rating is a compilation of each players' rating weighted based on playing time.

Maui Invitational Final: 4 North Carolina 71 vs 16 Wisconsin 56

North Carolina: 6.94

F Kennedy Meeks Sr: 10

F Isaiah Hicks Sr: 7.5

F/G Justin Jackson Jr: 5.5

G Kenny Williams So: 4

G Joel Berry Jr: 9

F Tony Bradley Fr: 6

G Nate Britt Sr: 3

G Brandon Robinson Fr: N/A

G Seventh Woods Fr: N/A

Team Overview:

North Carolina absolutely dominated the Badgers last night. They did so inside. North Carolina established their two big men early and often on the offensive end. Both Meeks and Hicks have developed offensive games. They can score in the post, and step outside. Hick's turnaround jumper (a shot Meeks made as well) is particularly dangerous. Meeks was also a beast on the boards. He grabbed 16 of them. Wisconsin can be very effective on the offensive boards—the game before against Georgetown, Wisconsin had 20 of them—with Ethan Happ and Nigel Hayes, but Meeks single-handedly shut them down. 13 of his 16 rebounds came off the defensive glass, denying Wisconsin of those offensive rebounds, and second chance opportunities—and boy, could they have used those second chance points. Meeks finished the game with 15 points on 6-9 shooting, 16 rebounds, two blocks, two steals, and two assists. He also stayed out of foul trouble, allowing him to play 31 minutes this game. More of Meeks will always be a good thing for North Carolina; he's averaging just over 23 minutes played this season. Hicks, Meeks' partner down low, had 14 points on 6-10 shooting and five rebounds. That's about what his average has been this season; Hicks is averaging 14.6 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Joel Berry II has developed into a great leader for the Tarheels. He is an incredibly efficient scorer, shooting 9-12 from the field against the Badgers, and making two of his three 3pt attempts. He scored 22 points. Berry is averaging 17.4 ppg thus far this year, while shooting an outstanding, especially for a guard, 55.9% from the field, and 47.1% from deep. Berry has developed into an excellent shooter. Berry also had three assists. Kenny Williams has seen an increase in his playing time this year. He's averaging 20.9 minutes/game compared to just 4.4 his freshman season. However, he is still struggling to get involved on offense, averaging just 5.6 ppg. Williams has been shooting at a high percentage; he just does not get many looks as UNC's fifth scoring option. Justin Jackson has been performing well thus far this season, averaging 15.4 ppg, while shooting 47% from the floor. He scored in double digits this game, but was just 4-13 from the field, and made just one of his six attempts beyond the arc. Jackson struggled mightily in the first half especially, before turning it around in the second half. He constantly faced a mismatch on defense, and took advantage by taking the ball inside on the drive. He is much more effective doing this, then trying to be a jump shooter.

North Carolina just got eight points from their bench, and only two players: Bradley and Britt, played from than 10 minutes. Bradley looks very promising. He, like Hicks, is capable of scoring inside and out, and looks like he will be a good rebounder too. He finished with six points, and three rebounds. Britt really struggled against Wisconsin. He missed all five of his shots, and turned the ball over twice. North Carolina will be better when Theo Pinson's multi-faceted game returns, and Britt is back to playing less than 20 minutes/game.

North Carolina stomped on a tough Wisconsin team. They even did so playing a slower tempo game than they're used to. The Tarheels can be very dominate with their two interior players, especially on the offensive end. They also out-rebounded a good rebounding team. North Carolina still is not a great shooting team, they shot just 25% from 3pt range. However, Berry has grown into a complete point guard, who sets the tempo for the team, and can shoot with anyone.

Wisconsin: 5.38

F Ethan Happ So: 7

F Vitto Brown Sr: 7.5

F Nigel Hayes Sr: 4.5

G Zak Showalter Sr: 5

G Bronson Koenig Sr: 2.5

F Alex Illikainen So: 5

G Khalil Iverson So: 5.5

G D'Mitrik Trice Fr: 6.5

F Charles Thomas IV So: 5

Team Overview:

Wisconsin looked terrible against the Tarheels. They shot just 38.2% from the field. They were also out-rebounded 26:38, and limited to just four offensive rebounds, a game after they grabbed 20 on that end.

Forwards, Vitto Brown and Ethan Happ, were the two bright spots for the team this game. Brown was one of the few players on the team showing any ability to shoot the ball. He finished the game with 15 points, shooting 5-6 from the field, and 4-5 from beyond the arc. Brown is averaging just 7.8 ppg, but is a very efficient scorer. He is shooting 58.1% from the field, and 52.6% from three. Brown needs to be taking more shots. Happ did not match his totals against Georgetown, which were 19 points and 15 rebounds. However, he still had a good game, trying to help the team any way possible. Happ has no quit in him, and gives 100% of effort every play. Happ finished the game with 13 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals, and two blocks.

Wisconsin's two star seniors, Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig, really struggled this game. Hayes scored eight points on 3-11 shooting, including missing all but one of his seven 3pt attempts. Hayes had difficulty finding his rhythm on offense, and too often settled for contested jump shots. It was not pretty. Koenig scored just two points, coming off the Georgetown game where he scored 20. The senior point guard was just 1-13 from the field, and missed all of his five attempts from behind the arc. He had no answer for the Tarheels, and Joel Berry II, on either end of the floor. Koenig also turned the ball over three times.

 No other Badger took more than four shots this game. The only player to make an impact off the bench was freshman, D'Mitrik Trice. Trice looked unfazed by the deficit in the second half, and looked to take advantage of the playing time. He ended the game with eight points, making both of his field goal attempts. It will be interesting to see if Trice is eventually rewarded with more minutes, considering Zak Showalter has been ineffective thus far this season as a starter.