Wisconsin is one win away. After clinching at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship, the Badgers can take the title all for themselves and seal the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament by beating Minnesota on Thursday.
The Gophers have gone through another gruelling conference campaign, but they’ve been known to put up a fight, especially at home. Can they deny mighty Wisconsin on home floor? Read on as we break down the Badgers vs. the Gophers. For more of Thursdays big-time college hoops matchups, check out our preview of Cal vs. Arizona.
[sc:MarchMadness ]Wisconsin Badgers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Betting Preview
Where: Williams Arena, Minneapolis
When: Thursday, March 5, 9:00 PM ET
Line: Wisconsin Badgers (-7) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (+7); total 131.5 – view all NCAA Basketball lines
Betting on the Wisconsin Badgers
Frank Kaminsky and No. 6 Wisconsin (26-3, 14-2 Big Ten) responded from their 59-53 loss at Maryland in a big way. Kaminsky scored a season-high 31 points as the Badgers beat Michigan State, 68-61, on Sunday to claim at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship.
[sc:NCAAB240banner ]Kaminsky has been sensational in conference play, averaging 19.5 points and 8.5 rebounds against Big Ten foes. Not even Minnesota’s very tall front line of Maurice Walker, Charles Buggs and Joey King (all of whom are 6-9 or taller) could stop “Frank The Tank” from dropping 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting in a 63-53 Wisconsin win a couple weeks ago.
The key for the Badgers to complete the sweep on the Gophers will be the play of their supporting cast around the ever consistent Kaminsky, starting with Sam Dekker.
The junior forward was lights out from about mid-January to mid-February, averaging 15 points during a 10-game stretch. But Dekker struggled against Minnesota, scoring just five points on 1-for-8 shooting and was limited to eight points in their win over Michigan State. The Badgers will need Dekker to reassert himself alongside Kaminsky in Minneapolis.
Likewise, Wisconsin will need Bronson Koenig to rediscover his shooting touch. Koenig scored a conference-high 17 points against the Gophers in their last meeting, but has since shot just 4-of-19 (21 percent) in his last two games.
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Betting on the Minnesota Golden Gophers
It’s been another trying season for Minnesota (17-12, 6-10 Big Ten) in conference play, but the Gophers are looking to end their regular season on a high. After three straight losses to Indiana, Northwestern and Wisconsin, the Gophers grabbed a big 96-90 overtime win at Michigan State on Thursday. It was only Minnesota’s second win in nine Big Ten road games.
The Gophers end their regular season with two games at home. They’re 4-3 at the Williams Arena but just 2-5 against the spread. They did give Ohio State and Iowa, who are both 10-6 in the conference, all they could handle in Minnesota as the Gophers lost to the two teams by a combined five points.
Minnesota’s balanced offense, which is 34th in the nation at 74.4 points per game, was firing on all cylinders against Michigan State. Five Gophers scored 12 or more points, while the team shot close to 52 percent. They will need more of the same to keep up with Wisconsin’s offense, which is ranked as the most efficient offense in the nation.
The Gophers got solid contributions off the bench in their first meeting against Wisconsin. Carlos Morris and DeAndre Mathieu combined for 22 points on 10-of-16 shooting. But the team won’t withstand another no-show from leading scorer Andre Hollins, who finished with just two points and went 1-of-8 from the field in Madison. Hollins (14.7 points per game) bounced back with 17 points against Michigan State.
Writer’s Prediction
Frank the Tank and Wisconsin steamroll the Gophers as the Badgers win and cover on the road.
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