The Big Ten is still a close race and multiple teams could steal the top spot. Currently, the Purdue Boilermakers lead the conference, but there’s a team following closely behind. The Wisconsin Badgers are 0.5 games away from taking control of the conference. All they need is Purdue to lose a game and for them to win. Lucky for them, they may get their wish tonight.
The Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota has had a rough year and is currently 13th in the Big Ten. For obvious reasons they come in as the underdogs here, but they only narrowly lost the last meeting. Minnesota won’t go down easy, and they have a long history against Wisconsin. So, let’s make a single-game parlay for today, using our computer picks.
Game Preview: Wisconsin Badgers at Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Wisconsin Badgers are only a step away from taking over the Big Ten. This season, the Badgers are 21-5 with a 12-4 record in the conference. Their offense isn’t among the best in college basketball, but they get the job done. Perhaps the real key to Wisconsin’s success is their defense who allows just 66.35 points per game. It could be the key to a win tonight.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are second to last in the Big Ten and have an awful 4-12 conference record. Winning the Big Ten is impossible for the Golden Gophers, but they could spoil it for the Badgers. One of the things Minnesota does better than Wisconsin is shooting from beyond the arc. They could use this to their advantage when they face off today.
Against the Spread: Wisconsin Badgers -5
The Wisconsin Badgers have a strong history against the Golden Gophers going 8-2 over their last ten games. In those ten games, they’ve gone 5-5 against the spread. This season, the Badgers are 15-11 against the spread, which is pretty good. When you take into account that they’ve gone 6-3 against the spread on the road, it’s even better.
The Total: OVER 135.5
The offense isn’t a strong suit for either of these teams, but we still believe the total will go over 135.5. The Badgers average 71.23 ppg while the Golden Gophers put up 67.12. Between their averages, they should be able to exceed the total this time. One thing to keep in mind is that the total has gone OVER in 12 of Wisconsin’s last 16 games. The total has gone OVER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 6 games at home.
Minnesota Total Points: OVER 65.5
As we said above, offensively, both of these teams have their struggles. However, Minnesota can take advantage of the Badgers by spreading the court. It wouldn’t surprise us if the Golden Gophers were able to keep up with the Badgers to start the game. They’re shooting 36.84% from beyond the arc. This should be enough to get them over the 65.5 total.
Win Margin: Wisconsin by 1-10 (+172)
This is a flavorful pick to through onto your single-game parlay because it’ll boost your winnings. We already said that Wisconsin will win, the 1-10 margin is perfect because these games are always close. In their last meeting with the Golden Gophers, the Badgers won 66-60, perfectly within 1-10.