The Liberty Flames and the Wisconsin Badgers meet Sunday in NIT college basketball action from Kohl Center. Liberty is 27-8 overall this year. The Flames beat Villanova in their tournament game on Tuesday. As for Wisconsin, they’re 18-14 on the season following a tournament win over Bradley. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Liberty Flames
Liberty got out of the regular season with a pretty nice 24-7 record overall. The Flames finished off with three straight wins over Jacksonville State and Queens NC (twice). In the Atlantic Sun Tournament, Liberty beat Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky before a close loss to Kennesaw State.
On Tuesday in NIT action versus Villanova, Liberty took a 32-25 edge into the second half. The Flames were outscored 32-30 in the second but held on for the 62-57 victory. Darius McGhee led the team on 26 points with four assists.
Wisconsin Badgers
Over on the Wisconsin side, they were 17-13 at the conclusion of the regular season. The Badgers hit a 2-3 skid in the final five games, losing to Rutgers, Michigan and Purdue in that time. Wisconsin would then fall 65-57 to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament.
Matched up against Bradley in the NIT on Tuesday, Wisconsin went into the second half with a 40-35 edge. The Badgers rolled on a 41-27 run from there and took the win 81-62. Steven Crowl was the team’s leading scorer on 36 points and nine rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to take a stab on Liberty. You could make a case either way here, though. The Flames had a bit of bad luck in their final Atlantic Sun Tournament game versus Kennesaw State, but outside of that the team has played well lately. Liberty is 6-1 in their last seven, scoring 73 or more points in five of their six victories. As for Wisconsin, they’ve been fairly competitive lately even against tough Big Ten competition. The Badgers should match up well here, but I like Liberty to keep the cover pace (and maybe even win). Should be a fun one.