GAME NOTES: The fourth-seeded Xavier Musketeers and the 12th-seeded Wisconsin Badgers are set to collide in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament. These squads are battling for a Sweet 16 berth, as the winner of this contest moves on to play either top-seeded Pittsburgh or eighth-seeded Oklahoma State.

Wisconsin trailed fifth-seeded Florida State by 12 points at intermission on Friday, but somehow the team managed to force overtime and win the game by a 61-59 final. The Badgers are playing in their 15th NCAA Tournament, and they won the national championship back in 1941. Wisconsin is 20-13 all-time in this event and owns a 20-12 overall record this season. Considering the fact that the team finished just 10-8 versus Big Ten foes and failed to win either the league's regular season or tournament titles, coach Bo Ryan and his troops almost missed the opportunity to compete in this event.

As for Xavier, it proved to be far superior to 13th-seeded Portland State in Friday's 77-59 first-round win. The team is making its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance and now owns a 16-19 record at this event. The Musketeers won the Atlantic 10 regular season title, and although they were upset in the conference tournament by Temple, they are 26-7 overall and a formidable opponent to say the least. Xavier has many impressive wins on its resume', including triumphs over NCAA Tournament participants Memphis, Missouri and LSU.

Wisconsin owns a 2-1 series lead over Xavier, and the teams last met during the 2001-02 season.

Trevon Hughes made an acrobatic shot in the closing seconds of regulation to lift Wisconsin to the dramatic victory over Florida State on Friday. The Badgers shot a woeful 7-of-25 from the floor in the first half, including 1- of-10 from three-point range, and trailed 31-19 at intermission. In the second half, they were able to knock down 12-of-24 field goal attempts, including 7- of-14 from behind the arc, to force the extra session. The fact that Wisconsin only committed nine turnovers in the 45-minute affair was key to the victory, especially since the club was outplayed in many other key areas. Jason Bohannon shook off a slow start to score 16 points and pace his Badgers. Keaton Nankivil pitched in 14 points off the bench, while Marcus Landry and Trevon Hughes had 10 points apiece. Landry is the team's leading scorer this season with 12.5 ppg, and Hughes adds 11.9 ppg to the mix to go along with 93 assists and 47 steals. Both Hughes and Bohannon (10.5 ppg) are shooting below 40 percent from the floor, and Wisconsin is only averaging a modest 64.3 ppg. Fortunately, the team has been able to limit opponents to 59.0 ppg.

Xavier connected on 53.7 percent of its field goal attempts against Portland State on Friday and finished with an extremely low total of seven turnovers. C.J. Anderson led a balanced offensive attack with 14 points, while Derrick Brown, B.J. Raymond and Dante' Jackson all pitched in 13 points. The Musketeers earned a commanding 34-21 rebounding advantage and finished with a 34-14 edge in points in the paint. Four players have started all 33 games for Xavier this season, and that continuity has been a major ingredient in the team's success. Raymond is scoring 14.1 ppg on the strength of his 42.6 percent three-point accuracy, and Brown brings 13.8 ppg to the floor. As for Anderson, he provides 10.2 ppg for a Xavier team that is posting 72.5 ppg. The Musketeers play tremendous team defense, holding foes to 62.3 ppg on 39.1 percent shooting from the floor.

Expect this game to be close from start to finish, and give a narrow edge to Wisconsin. The Badgers are undoubtedly confident after beating Florida State and will ride a wave of momentum into the Sweet 16.