Thursday night in CBB will see the 17th ranked Indiana Hoosiers travel to Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 pm tipoff and will be televised live on Espn2. Currently Wisconsin is favored by 7.5 points with the total being set at 127.5 for this game. A top-25 showdown is on tap in Madison this evening, as the 25th- ranked Wisconsin Badgers play host to the 16th-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten action from the Kohl Center.
Free Analysis: Tom Crean's Hoosiers were one of the real surprise teams in the country prior to league play, as they won their first 12 games of the season. Big Ten play has presented a different set of challenges however, as Indiana has split its first eight games in-conference. The team was able to end a three-game slide last weekend with a 73-54 pasting of Penn State. Indiana comes in leading the Big Ten in scoring (79.8), field goal percentage (50.0) and 3-point percentage (44.9). Five players are averaging double figures, including four starters. Freshman Cody Zeller leads the charge up front with 15.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Christian Watford adds 12.6 ppg and joins Jordan Hulls (12.4 ppg) as a potent one-two punch from three-point range. The pair have combined for 78 of the team's 145 three-pointers to date. Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey give the team a couple of extra options at the offensive end with 10.5 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. The Hoosiers have made a living off their opponents' miscues with 18 points per game off turnovers and scoring another 18.1 points at the foul line, the second highest figure nationally. at the defensive end Indiana has been better than average as they have allowed 65 ppg (125th) on 41.5% shooting (110th), but they have struggled some at that end in Big 10 play where they have allowed 73 ppg on 46.1% shooting. Bo Ryan's Badgers are once again one of the top defensive teams in the nation and that has served them well en route to a 16-5 overall mark and a 5-3 ledger in the Big Ten. Wisconsin comes into this contest with a four-game win streak in tow, following a tough 67-63 road win at Illinois last weekend. Wisconsin will counter India with the nation's top defense. The Badgers lead the country in both scoring defense (49.6 ppg) and field-goal percentage defense (.359). In addition, the team also boasts of a +4.2 rebounding margin and is among the top teams in the country in turnovers, committing just 9.0 miscues per game. Offensively, the team is led by playmaker Jordan Taylor. The 6-1 senior can do a little bit of everything, leading the team in scoring (14.1 ppg) and assists (4.4 apg), while also pulling down just over four rebounds per game. Jared Berggren is next in the scoring column at 11.0 ppg, while Ryan Evans and Ben Brust chip in with 9.7 and 9.5 ppg, respectively. Wisconsin has not been great at the offensive end this year as they have put up just 65.6 ppg (229th) on 43.5% shooting (177th). They had a stretch where they struggled from long range, but are still 56th in the country in 3pt shooting (37.5%). Taylor is shooting just 39.6 percent overall this season, but is 6 for 13 from 3-point range the last two games while averaging 13.0 points in the second half of those contests. Perhaps a visit from the Hoosiers will get him going even more. Taylor totaled 67 points in two games against the Hoosiers last season, scoring a career-high 39 in a 77-67 victory in Bloomington on March 3. Indiana holds a 94-63 lead in the all-time series with Wisconsin, but the Badgers have won eight straight in the series and haven't lost to the Hoosiers since 2007.
Free Pick: Gonna side with the DOG in this one. Indiana has struggled on the road this year and Wisconsin has righted their ship some of late, but I'm still not sold enough on their offense to think that they will be able to score enough to get a comfortable win here. Let's look at a couple of comparisons for a moment. Indiana has put up 69 points on Nebraska, while Wisconsin has averaged 57 ppg in their 2 games vs the Huskers. Indiana did put up 68.5 ppg in their two games vs OSU and they scored 73 points vs Michigan State, while the Badgers needed OT just to hit 60 points vs Sparty. That shows that Indiana can score on tough defenses and if you look at the two blowout road losses they had vs OSU and MSU, you will notice that it was vs two teams that can score. Wisconsin can't and will have a lot of problems putting enough points on the board to get an easy win here. I look for no more than a 4 point Wisconsin win in this one.
Free Picks: Indiana at Wisconsin Betting
http://PregameVideos.com - Indiana struggles on the road and Wisconsin has dominated this series plus other factors college basketball bettors need to know about Indiana at Wisconsin (Thursday, January 26, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Scott Spreitzer.