Wisconsin vs Montana Prediction 3/20/25 College Basketball Picks Today

The Montana Grizzlies and the Wisconsin Badgers meet Thursday in college basketball action from the Ball Arena. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Wisconsin vs Montana Prediction.

Matchup History

These two teams only met once before, it was back in 2012, and ended up as a 73-49 win for Wisconsin.

Montana Recap

The Montana Grizzlies come into the NCAA tournament on behalf of the Big Sky as the conference tournament champions, finishing the year 25-9 including a 15-3 mark in Big Sky conference play. The Griz knocked off Northern Arizona, Idaho, and Northern Colorado on their way to the title and the conference’s automatic berth into the Big Dance.

Grizzlies Making First NCAA Tournament Appearance Since 2019

Money Williams leads the Grizzlies in scoring and assists with 13.3 PPG and 3.1 APG along with 3.6 RPG while Malik Moore has 12.8 PPG with 3.2 RPG and 2.4 APG so far this season. Joe Pridgen has 11.5 PPG with 6.9 RPG to lead Montana in rebounding while Kai Johnson has 11.1 PPG with 3.1 RPG to cap off the group of double-digit scorers for Montana so far this season. Brandon Whitney’s also added 9.5 PPG with 2.7 APG while Te’Jon Sawyer has 9.2 PPG with 3.9 RPG as well on the year. As a team, Montana is averaging 76.9 PPG on 50.2% shooting from the field, 36% from thre,e and 73.6% from the foul line this season.

Why the Montana Grizzlies will win

• Montana has won 14 of its last 15 games.
• Wisconsin has lost three of its last four NCAA Tournament games.

Wisconsin Recap

The Wisconsin Badgers come into the NCAA tournament repping the Big 12, finishing the year with an overall record of 26-9 on the year including a 13-7 mark in Big Ten conference play. As the 5-seed, Wisconsin knocked out Northwestern, UCLA, and Michigan State before falling to Michigan in the Big Ten Title Game.

Badgers Making Second Straight NCAA Tournament Appearance, 4^th In Last 5 Years

John Tonje leads the Badgers in scoring with 19.2 PPG along with 5.3 RPG while John Blackwell has 15.5 PPG with 5.1 RPG and 2.1 APG to cap off the scoring in double figures for Wisconsin so far this season. Nolan Winter has 9.5 PPG with 5.9 RPG to lead the Badgers in rebounding. Steven Crowl also has 9.6 PPG with 5.4 RPG and 2.5 APG as well on the year while Max Klesmit has 9.4 PPG with a team-high 2.7 APG to lead the Badgers in the assist department. As a team, Wisconsin is averaging 79.7 PPG on 45.2% shooting from the field, 34.9% from behind the three-point line, and 82.8% from the foul line so far this season.

Why the Wisconsin Badgers will win

• Wisconsin has won each of its last six day games against non-AP-ranked opponents at a neutral venue.
• Montana has lost each of its last three games against non-conference opponents.

Total Points Facts

• Each of Wisconsin’s last six NCAA Tournament games has produced a total of 147 or fewer points.
• Four of Montana’s last five day games have produced a total of 146 or fewer points.

Wisconsin vs Montana Prediction

I’m with Wisconsin here. I’ll give Montana full credit for getting to this point and running through the Big Sky to make it to where they are here. However, Montana had to take the step up in competition this year when the Grizzlies really struggled, with blowout losses to teams like Tennessee, Oregon, and Utah State. I could make a strong case that Wisconsin is the best offensive unit out of the bunch, and I don’t think Montana has the chops to hang with the Badgers for a full 40 minutes. I think Wisconsin will pull away in the second half, grab the win, and cover here.