The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers will travel to the Breslin Center to take on the 17th ranked Michigan State Spartans this Tuesday night in College Basketball action.
The 14th ranked Wisconsin Badgers improved to 18-4 on the season after defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions, 51-49, this past Saturday. Wisconsin allowed Penn State to fight back from a 49-40 deficit with just 3:44 left in regulation to tie the game at 49-all late, however, the Badgers were able to come away with the victory after Tyler Wahl hit a game-winning layup for Wisconsin with :31 seconds left in regulation. Wisconsin shot 37.5% from the field & 28.6% from beyond the arc while allowing Pen State to shot 31.6% from the field & 30.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Badgers was Steven Crowl who had 13 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, & 1 steal.
On the season, Wisconsin is averaging 71.2 ppg on 41.8% shooting from the field. The Badgers are averaging 7.0 three-pointers per game on 31.6% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Wisconsin has been led by Johnny Davis (20.6 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.3 bpg), Brad Davison (15.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.0 apg), Tyler Wahl (11.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.6 apg), & Steven Crowl (9.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 1.4 apg).
Defensively, Wisconsin is holding their opponents to an average of 66.3 ppg on 43.5% shooting from the field. The Badgers have a rebound margin of 0.4 and a turnover margin of 3.3.
The 17th ranked Michigan State Spartans had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 17-5 on the season after being defeated by the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, 84-63, this past Saturday. Michigan State trailed by just a 40-38 margin at halftime, however, the Spartans struggled on both ends of the court in the 2nd half and could not fight back after Rutgers took a 65-50 lead with 9:17 left in regulation. Michigan State shot 44.2% from the field & 45.8% from beyond the arc while allowing Rutgers to shoot 61.5% from the field & 45.0% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Spartans was Gabe Brown who had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.
On the season, Michigan State is averaging 73.7 ppg on 46.4% shooting from the field. The Spartans are averaging 7.5 three-pointers per game on 39.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Michigan State has been led by Gabe Brown (13.1 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.0 apg), Malik Hall (10.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.2 apg), Max Christie (10.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg), & Marcus Bingham Jr. (9.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.6 bpg).
Defensively, Michigan State is allowing their opponents to average 66.4 ppg on 40.3% shooting from the field. The Spartans have a rebound margin of 6.5 and a turnover margin of -3.0.
The Badgers are 0-5 ATS in their last 5 games overall & 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games after allowing less than 50 points in their previous game. The Spartans are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss & 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
Wisconsin has been solid this season, however, they can struggle on the offensive end as if Johnny Davis & Brad Davison are having off nights, like what we recently saw against Penn State, the Badgers can really struggle to find ways to generate offense. Michigan State is strong on both ends of the court and between the fact that the Spartans are 9-1 at home and recently defeated Wisconsin by an 86-74 margin on the road, I think Michigan State does enough to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!