Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Divisional Round
Wisconsin (12-5 SU, 8-9 ATS, 4-3 B10) faces Northwestern (12-5 SU, 9-8 ATS, 3-3 B10) from Evanston on Monday night at 6:30pmET. This game was supposed to be played on Saturday but was postponed due to COVID-19 issues with the Northwestern program.
These teams just once last season with the Badgers winning 82-76 on the road as a 2-point favorite.
Wisconsin broke a three-game losing streak by beating Penn State at home 63-60 on Jan. 17 as a 3.5-point favorite. At 64 in the NCAA Net Rankings, the Badgers have some work to do to improve their NCAA Tournament resume'. Steven Crawl led the Badgers with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Chucky Hepburn added 13 points in three assists. Another key for Wisconsin was the return of 6-9 forward Tyler Wahl (ankle), who returned after missing three games (losses to Indiana, Michigan State, and Illinois). Wahl is averaging 12.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds on 41.2% shooting so the Badgers need his presence back in the lineup. The Badgers turned the ball over just five times, which made up for their subpar shooting (43%, 7-17 3pt).
Chucky Hepburn is feeling it right now ??@BadgerMBB x @ChuckyHepburn pic.twitter.com/vlhECNj6dp
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBon FOX) January 18, 2023
When it comes to turnovers, Wisconsin and Northwestern are going to methodically move the ball and try to protect the basketball. The Badgers rank second (NW first) in turnover margin at 3.65 and fifth in assist/turnover ratio in the Big 10. Their defense is pretty solid, as they hold teams to just 32.7% from the three-point line (9th), but they rank 13th in field goal percentage defense (43.2%). Wisconsin struggles on the boards as they rank 13th out of 14 teams in the Big with a -3.6 rebounding margin. Crowl leads the Badgers with 12.9 points per game along with Wahl. Crowl also leads the team in rebounds with 6.8 per game and in field goal shooting at 50%.