A contest between teams on the opposite side of the Big Ten standings takes place tonight as the Nebraska Cornhuskers travel to take on the No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers. The game is scheduled for a 9:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Currently the odds for the game have Wisconsin favored by 16 points.

His team isn't the best, isn't the most efficient and certainly isn't the most talented in the Big Ten, but Bo Ryan's Wisconsin Badgers are once again a big threat in the Big Ten. Ryan's team has risen to No. 17 in the most recent polls and many bracketologists have them in the 4-5 seed range. If they're able to finish second or third in the conference, they might squeeze out a second or third seed.

The Badgers are looking to secure a 20-win season tonight with a win over hapless Nebraska. The Cornhuskers just aren't a good basketball team this season, if they ever have been, and it doesn't look like it's going to get better anytime soon. Nebraska's best win this season came over Valparaiso back on November 15. They have no wins over any team in the Top 150 of the RPI.

But if there is a silver lining for Nebraska, it's that they've played a very tough schedule this season — 13th best in the country. Of their 14 losses on the season, 11 of them have come against teams in the Top 50 of the RPI. Creighton, Oregon, Ohio State (twice), Michigan State (twice), Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana and Wisconsin have already beaten Nebraska. That's a very hard schedule to survive, obviously, and Nebraska hasn't been able to do so.

Jared Berggren, who averages a team-best 11.9 points, and the Badgers can't take the Huskers too lightly in this game, even though they clearly aren't on the same level. Wisconsin beat Nebraska 47-41 in the first game of this series earlier this season. Berggren scored 14 in that game. Ben Brust is playing very well lately and he's a very good shooter from outside the arc.

Nebraska doesn't beat ranked teams on the road — it's that simple. Nebraska's only win on the road against a ranked squad since 1999-2000 came over No. 22 Texas A&M on Feb. 23, 2008. They did pick up a decent win at Iowa in their most recent game, however. Dylan Talley leads the team in scoring and he has to have a monster game tonight if the Huskers can hang around in this game.

Look for Wisconsin to flex their proverbial muscles and dominate this one at home. Nebraska is just awful on the road against any team that is any good and the Badgers have a great chance to finish in the top two or three spots in the conference. A win tonight over a bad Nebraska team will help that.

Free Pick: Wisconsin 59, Nebraska 42

Betting Tips For College Basketball Conference Games

Chuck Edel, Chris Andrews and Vegas Runner give some tips on betting college basketball conference games.