The George Mason Patriots and the Wisconsin Badgers meet Thursday in college basketball action from Kohl Center. George Mason is 7-5 on the season so far. the Patriots took out American in their last game. As for Wisconsin, they’re 9-2 and fresh off a win over Nicholls State. The Badgers were originally going to face Morgan State here but managed to find a replacement opponent in the Patriots. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
George Mason started out the year on a four-game win streak, then lost five straight to James Madison, Washington, Nevada, South Dakota State and Old Dominion. Since then it’s been three straight wins over Navy, Georgia and American.
In the Tuesday game versus the Eagles, George Mason outscored American 34-18 in the first half and cruised to a 67-44 win. Top scorer De’Von Cooper finished on 18 points, and D’Shawn Schwartz added 15 points and three rebounds.
Over on the Wisconsin side, they lost to Providence in game three, but otherwise opened with wins over St. Francis BK, Green Bay, Texas A&M, Houston, Saint Mary’s, Georgia Tech, Marquette and Indiana. After a loss to Ohio State the Badgers beat Nicholls State last week.
Last Wednesday against Nicholls State, Wisconsin was down 37-28 heading into the break. The Badgers woke up on a 43-31 run from there in a 71-68 win. Brad Davison led the team with 19 points, and Tyler Wahl added 12 points and four boards.
The Badgers are 6-2 ATS in their last eight overall and 3-1-1 ATS in their last five after an ATS loss. The under is 10-4 in Wisconsin’s last 14 after an ATS loss.
Meanwhile, the Patriots are 6-1 ATS in the last seven Thursday games and 5-1 ATS in their last six after a straight-up win. George Mason is 4-1 ATS in their last five overall.
PICK: I’m still going to lean Wisconsin in this one, but staying away. The Badgers have been playing it really tight over their last five games. Three of their wins were decided by five points or fewer, and Wisconsin had to rally after a bad first half in their last game versus Nicholls State. They’re not exactly generating a ton of confidence these days.
As for George Mason, they’ve been hit-and-miss on the scoreboard this year depending on the matchup. The Patriots have failed to hit 70 points in three of their last six games, but when they’re clicking the team seems to do well offensively. Still, if Wisconsin is playing like they’re capable of playing here the Badgers should be able to power out a cover.