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Prognosis murky for Wisconsin's Jackson, UNC's Meeks leading up to Sweet 16
A Wisconsin-North Carolina matchup already represented one of the most compelling Sweet 16 games of this NCAA tournament. But when the teams meet at 6:47 p.m. CT Thursday at Staples Center in Los Angeles, there will be another level of intrigue because of the unknown playing status of a key player on each team.
Those personnel developments involve Wisconsin point guard Traevon Jackson and North Carolina forward Kennedy Meeks. Jackson, who has not played since breaking his right foot against Rutgers on Jan. 11, could make his first appearance with the Badgers in 20 games. Meeks, meanwhile, is attempting to overcome a sprained left knee sustained in a Round of 32 game against Arkansas.
Jackson was medically cleared to participate last week but did not play in Wisconsin's first two NCAA tournament games, saying his status was "90 percent mental." With a couple extra days of practice this week, he could gain the confidence necessary to spell starting point guard Bronson Koenig -- who took Jackson's place in the lineup following the injury -- even for a few minutes.
"Everything is up to me now," Jackson said last week. "I'm cleared. I'm fully cleared to go. But it's off of my feel and how I feel when I'm running and when I'm jumping and doing all of those things. It's different. If I was playing football, I would be definitely back out there. But basketball is so much cutting, especially the way I play, it's a lot to the rim. So I want to be fully there."
Wisconsin escaped Oregon, 72-65, in the Round of 32 but struggled at times to find an offensive rhythm with Koenig sidelined because of foul trouble and no true point guard to come off the bench. Badgers guard Zak Showalter, a reserve whose playing time increased after Jackson's injury, tallied five points and a career-best five rebounds in 15 minutes to provide a lift off the bench. Jackson's participation would greatly help the team's bench production, which has faltered at times this season.
Jackson averaged 9.4 points and 2.9 assists while starting the first 17 games. He noted in the locker room a day before the tournament began that his goal was to return in time for the Sweet 16.
"Lord willing, I'm going to be there," he said last week. "My goal is to just be there for practice 100 percent. I didn't want to come back and go half way. I want to be all in. So that's my goal."
Meeks' status is also murky. He sprained his knee when Arkansas defender Anthlon Bell fell into him after taking a charge. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams did not seem particularly optimistic about Meeks while speaking Monday on his weekly radio show.
"It's not good," Williams said. "They're not completely ruling him out, and they're not saying that he can play. Let me say it that way. I don't think we'll have him, but we'll just have to wait and see."
Meeks, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, is North Carolina's third-leading scorer at 11.6 points per game, is second in rebounds (7.4) and leads the Tar Heels in field-goal percentage (.566). If he can't play, Joel James, a 6-10 junior, could start in Meeks' place. He averages 2.5 points and 1.9 rebounds in 10.0 minutes per game.
Top-seeded Wisconsin (33-3) and fourth-seeded North Carolina (26-11) could have met back in November in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament championship in the Bahamas. But North Carolina lost to Butler in the opening round of the tournament and fell into the consolation bracket, while Wisconsin went on to defeat Oklahoma in the title game.
Point guard Marcus Paige is North Carolina's leading scorer (14.1 points per game), forward Brice Johnson is second (12.9 points) and forward Justin Jackson is fourth (10.6 points). Forward J.P. Tokoto, a Menomonee Falls, Wis., native, ranks fifth in scoring at 8.4 points per game.
"Aside from everything that you know about them, it's a historical program," Badgers forward Nigel Hayes said. "They have the great point guard in Paige, they have a great front line and have great guards as well. We know they're athletic and big, so we know we'll have our work cut out for us."
Badgers guard Josh Gasser and center Frank Kaminsky are the only players on the roster with experience against UNC. North Carolina defeated Wisconsin 60-57 on Nov. 30, 2011 at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill, N.C., in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Gasser played 35 minutes in that game and tallied no points and four rebounds. Kaminsky played 12 minutes with three points and one rebound.
"It's going to be a challenge," Gasser said. "Definitely a challenge. But it's one that we'll be ready for. We've got to get some rest. ... It's really going to be how we play and our energy and obviously they're a really good team, so if we don't play well, we probably won't end up on the right side."
Badgers coach Bo Ryan clearly was not a fan of the Sweet 16 setup for his team. He noted Wisconsin played the late game Sunday against Oregon and then would play the early game Thursday, while the other teams in the West Region played last Saturday. UW took a charter flight from Madison to Los Angeles on Monday, a day earlier than previously anticipated, to try to acclimate.
"I just find that kind of curious, why this is the way it is, but I'm sure with the logistics, this is what happens," Ryan said. "So we won't have as much preparation time as our opponent, but we'll just have to run a little faster."
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