Big 10 basketball and we will see the Iowa Hawkeyes travel to the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Wisconsin Badgers. The game has a start time of 9:00 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Current Vegas betting odds have Wisconsin listed as 9.5 point favorites, while the total is set at 130.5.
Analysis: The Iowa Hawkeyes come in having won 5 of their last 6 games, which includes a nice 76-67 home win over Ohio State on Saturday. That was their 2nd win of the year over the Buckeyes. Iowa is now 13-5 overall and 4-1 in the Big 10. Iowa is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 33-16 ATS in their last 49 games following a S.U. win, while the dog is now 7-0 the last 7 in the series. The Hawkeyes have been a decent offensive team this year, ranking 112th in scoring (70.8 ppg), 255th in shooting (42.0%), 271st in 3 point shooting (31.3%) and 12th in FT shooting (75.8%). Defensively the Hawkeyes have been very solid, ranking 62nd in points allowed (61.4 ppg), 41st in defensive FG% (38.9%) and 107th in 3 point defense (32.0%).
The Wisconsin Badgers bounced back from their shocking road loss with a nice 70-55 home win over Nebraska on Saturday. Wisconsin comes in ranked 6th in the polls with a 16-2 record that includes a 4-1 mark in the Big 10 and a 9-1 mark at home. Wisconsin is 5-2 ATS in their last 7 Tuesday games, but just 1-4-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning S.U. record. The Badgers have been a very good offensive team this year, ranking 58th in scoring (73.3 ppg), 19th in shooting (48.8%), 127th in 3 point shooting (35.4%) and 33rd in FT shooting (74.0%). Defensively the Badgers have been very good, as they come in ranked 6th in points allowed (54.9 ppg), 102nd in defensive FG% (40.8%) and 219th in 3 point defense (34.6%).
Pick: I will go with the Under in this game. I know the Hawkeyes like to run, but Wisconsin is a team that gets back on defense very well and they can turn this into a halfcourt game, Which is not what the Hawkeyes are good at. Iowa is a terrible shooting team, especially from long range, ranking 271st in 3 point shooting. Now for Wisconsin their weakness on defense is 3 point defense (219th). They will pack it in and make Iowa beat them from the perimeter, which should really keep the Iowa scoring down. The Badgers are a good offensive team, but Iowa has played very good defense this year, allowing just 61.4 ppg overall and 65 ppg on the road, while the Badgers have allowed just 55.1 ppg at home. 67-60 sounds about right for this game.
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