Wisconsin vs James Madison Prediction 3-22-24 College Basketball Picks

The James Madison Dukes and the Wisconsin Badgers meet Friday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament First Round at the Barclays Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. The winner of this tilt will take on Vermont or Duke in the next round. Here’s a James Madison vs. Wisconsin Prediction.

James Madison Team Preview

The James Madison Dukes come into the NCAA tournament as the Sun Belt conference champions, finishing the year 31-3 overall. Terrence Edwards Jr. leads the Dukes in scoring with 17.6 PPG along with 4.3 RPG and 3.3 APG while T.J. Bickerstaff has 13.9 PPG with a team-high 8.4 RPG to lead the Dukes on the glass this season. Noah Friedel has 11.6 PPG with 5.7 RPG, and Julien Wooden has 10.2 PPG with 3.1 RPG to cap off the scoring in double figures for JMU so far this season. Michael Green III has 7.1 PPG along with 3.5 APG to lead the Dukes in the assist department up to this point in the year. As a team, James Madison is averaging 84.6 PPG on 47.9% shooting from the field, 35.8% from three and 71.1% from the foul line this season.

Wisconsin Team Preview

The Wisconsin Badgers come into the NCAA tournament on behalf of the Big Ten, finishing the year at 22-13 overall this season. Wisconsin surprised Purdue in the conference tournament semis but lost the championship hame to Illinois. AJ Storr leads the Badgers in scoring with 16.9 PPG while Steven Crowl has 11.2 PPG with a team-high 7.1 RPG to lead the Badgers on the glass so far this season. Tyler Wahl has 10.8 PPG with 5.4 RPG, capping off the group of double-digit scorers for Wisconsin so far this season. Chucky Hepburn also has 9.3 PPG and a team-high 3.9 APG to lead the Badgers in the assist department while Max Klesmit has 9.7 PPG this season. As a team, Wisconsin is averaging 75.1 PPG on 46.3% shooting from the field, 34.8% from behind the arc and 75.9% from the foul line this season.

James Madison vs. Wisconsin Prediction

I’m on James Madison and the points here. The Dukes are the better team in my eyes and while we saw teams in similar positions fall on Friday, teams that had big win totals out of smaller conferences, the Dukes are proven having beat stronger opposition earlier this season. Wisconsin’s disappointed in a lot of spots and I think the Badgers could disappoint here as well. Give me the Dukes and the points here.