College basketball picks today: Minnesota-Wisconsin prediction for Jan. 3

The No. 14 Wisconsin Badgers will host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Tuesday night as both teams get back into conference play. Both programs had a game canceled recently, and the Gopher have played one game after Dec. 14, while the Badgers went more than two weeks in between games before Friday's win over the Western Michigan Broncos. The game will tip off at 9:00 p.m. ET from the Kohl Center in Madison and air on Big Ten Network.

Let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin odds

Spread: Wisconsin -12
Over/Under: 124
Moneyline: Wisconsin -950, Minnesota +600

Wisconsin (10-2, 2-0 Big Ten) has been involved in plenty of close games this season with seven of 12 games being decided by five or fewer points. Tyler Wahl is the team's top player in points (14.1) and rebounds (6.8) per game. The Badgers' team defense (24) rates far better than offense (78) in KenPom's adjusted efficiency.

Minnesota (6-6, 0-2 Big Ten) last played on Dec. 22 when the Gophers held on to beat Chicago State 58-55. The Gophers snapped a five-game losing streak with consecutive victories heading into Tuesday night. Dawson Garcia put up 18 points in that game and is the team's leading scorer with 14.3 per game.

The Pick: Minnesota +12

Wisconsin is not a team built to blow opponents out, and picking the Badgers to cover as a double-digit favorite isn't the way to go here. Wisconsin is led by its defense, and it plays at an adjusted tempo that rates No. 348 in the country. There aren't enough possessions for Wisconsin to pull away in this one, so let's side with the dogs.

  
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