WISCONSIN WANTS TO SHOOT STRAIGHT VS. BELEAGUERED NORTHWESTERN
Big Ten Basketball Betting — Wisconsin Wants to Shoot Straight vs. Beleaguered Northwestern
The Wisconsin Badgers managed to rebound from a shameful loss to Michigan in Big Ten play, but they did so without being too impressive from the floor. Can they improve offensively as they face off against the Northwestern Wildcats? We’ll find out Wednesday when they lock horns at the Kohl Center in Madison at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
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There is no question that Wisconsin is one of the best teams in the country (ranked tenth by the AP, in fact). They’ve demonstrated that with some notable victories, taking down Louisville, Michigan State, Loyola of Chicago, Minnesota and Indiana. Until they met up with the Michigan Wolverines, their only loss came by two points at the hands of Marquette. That one certainly stung, but Michigan destroyed them, beating them by a 77 – 54 margin.
In that game, Wisconsin shot just 30.8% from the field, including a horrible 11 of 37 from the two-point range.
So it was redemption they were looking for last time out against Rutgers. And, for the most part, they got it, at least on the defensive end. They held the Scarlet Knights to just two out of 19 from three-point territory, but they only shot 35% themselves in a rather drab 60 – 54 victory.
It is out of character for Wisconsin not to shoot well. They have hit 39% of their three-pointers, and the only thing that keeps scores down is the fact that they are a very slow and deliberate team, occupying an average of 18.2 seconds per possession on the 30-second shot clock. Now they are being asked to carry a big number against the Wildcats of Chris Collins.
In the Big Ten basketball betting odds posted on this game by the folks at BetAnySports,
Northwestern began the season looking very much like a team that belonged in the NCAA tournament. They scored victories over Michigan State, Indiana and Ohio State in a highly competitive Big Ten schedule. But their defense has gone south, along with their fortunes. They have lost five consecutive games, including a rematch against Ohio State, and they have allowed 86 points per game over that period of time. Northwestern has surrendered 59 triples in those five contests, and that has a tendency to put them farther behind, as evidenced by the 18.4-point average margin of defeat.
So is there a saving grace for this team?
Well, Northwestern is certainly not a team that is going to give away the basketball, as they are sixth-best in the nation in turnover percentage. But what happens with this team is that it doesn’t play tempo very well. They couldn’t run, for example, with a team like Iowa, and even though they might be able to increase the pace against Wisconsin, they are going to have difficulty if the Badgers slow things down, which they are so good at doing.
Let’s not forget the fact that Wisconsin’s turnover percentage is second-best in the nation, and they are rated fifth in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to the metrics compiled by KenPom.
In a contest like this, we would tend to favor the better shooting team. And since Northwestern has demonstrated that they have lost touch with some of the better teams in the Big Ten, we would think that the Badgers might have picked the right opponent to get their shooting eyes back.
So we are going to go ahead and lay the points.
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