We head to the Big 10 Tournament and the second round so check out this No. 13 Northwestern vs. No. 5 Wisconsin prediction. The Wildcats (17-15, 7-13 B10) hope to advance to the quarterfinals when they meet Wisconsin (23-8, 13-7 B10) on Thursday at 2:30pmET. The winner will advance to take on No. 4 UCLA. These teams met earlier this season on Feb. 1 with the Badgers winning 75-69 at home. Check out this Northwestern vs. Wisconsin prediction and try our College Basketball Betting Picks.
Wildcats roll over Minnesota
Nick Martinelli led the Wildcats with 28 points to propel them over No. 12 Minnesota 72-64 on Wednesday afternoon. This was Northwestern's first conference tournament win since 2022.
At 47th in KenPom and 55 in the more important Net Rankings, Northwestern still has work to and would need to beat Wisconsin, UCLA and No. 1 Michigan State just to get to the Big 10 finals, which might be enough. No bubble teams are rooting for that because a run like that would give them a shot.
If not for injuries, they would be in the mix. Brooks Barnhizer (foot) and Jalen Leach (knee) were two of the three top scorers for the Wildcats when they were hurt. Martinelli (6-7, 220) has stepped up averaging 20.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 46.7% from the field and 35.2% from long range.
Northwestern ranks 64th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and 44th in Adjusted Defense according to KenPom. They also rank 208th in total rebounding percentage and 29th in assist-to-turnover ratio. On offense, they are averaging 72.7 points per game, 44.2% shooting and 33.7% from long range. Defensively, they are giving up 69.3 points per game, 43.5% shooting and 33.9% from long range.
Wisconsin looking to bounce back from bad home loss
Wisconsin ended the regular season with an 86-75 home loss to Penn State, who might not even make the NIT. That ended a good stretch of winning seven of nine games including defeating Purdue by 20 on the road, and Illinois by 21 at home with losses to Oregon in overtime and at Michigan State by nine. The Badgers are looking to improve their seeding in the NCAA Tournament as they are listed as 19th in the latest Net Rankings. Joe Lunardi has them as a No. 4 seed in his latest ESPN Bracketology.
The Badgers are dealing with one key injury as guard Max Klesmit (6-4, 204) is questionable with a lower-body injury and has missed four straight games. He’s averaging 9.7 points and is shooting 35.3% from the field. Guard John Tonje is having a great season with 18.9 points and 5.1 rebounds on 46% shooting and 37.8% from long range.
Wisconsin is 12th overall on KenPom to rand second in the Big 10, just ahead of 13 Maryland and 14 Purdue. They also rank 11th in Adjusted Offensive Efficiency and 35th in Adjusted Defense. On offense, they average 80.8 points per game, while shooting 46% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. They also rank first in the nation in free throw shooting (83.6%). On defense, they allow 71 points per game, 42.2% shooting and 33.5% from long range. They also rank 80th in total rebounding percentage.
Best Bets for Northwestern vs. Wisconsin
Full-Game Side Bet
Insiders Status:
This is one gritty team and there are some similarities to Wisconsin, who used to play a very slow tempo, like Northwestern. The Wildcats don't have much of an option with Barnhizer and Leach out. Wisconsin doesn't have a lot of motivation to win this game. A win is great and they could be a 3rd or 4th seed or even higher, but a loss isn't going to crush them. The Wildcats desperately need this game and they will do what it takes to win or in this case cove.r
Full-Game Total Pick
Insiders Status:
These used to be rock fights, but the Badgers are more of an uptempo team that runs efficient offense. And if you foul them, they make their free throws. Even the Wildcats are trending as an over team, allowing 75 points in the first game against Wisconsin which did go over. They've also gone over in 16 of their last 20 games. The Badgers also just allowed 86 points at home i their last game as their defense has been inconsistent at times.
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