Big 10 Rivals Lock Up – Minnesota at Wisconsin
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-1 SU, 7-3-1 ATS, 3-7 O/U) have won three consecutive games in the BetUS Sportsbook, covering the spread for BetUS NCAA college basketball betting backers each time out. The Wisconsin Badgers (12-4 SU, 7-7 ATS, 7-6-1 O/U) had their three-game winning streak snapped the last time they took the floor, getting handily beaten while failing to cover the spread for the third time in its last five games.
Tonight, the Big Ten rivals will each look to pick up a victory in the BetUS Sportsbook when they battle at the Kohl Center.
Minnesota defeated Penn State 79-59 on Sunday to cover the spread in the BetUS Sportsbook as a 6.5-point favorite as freshman shooting guard Devron Bostick scored a team-high 19 points for Minnesota while freshman forward Paul Carter added 14 points in the win.
While Lawrence Westbrook is the only player on Minnesota averaging double figures in scoring (12.8 ppg), five other players are averaging more than six points per game and 11 players are averaging more than 11 minutes of playing time per game under venerable head coach Tubby Smith.
“They know that we trust the system. If they just move the ball and play the right way, it really doesn’t matter to me who is shooting it. It’s the team that wins,” Smith said. “I usually tell guys, you actually just had the ball in your hand and it just so happened that it went through the hoop. But guess what? We all get credit for it because you couldn’t play by yourself. I think we’re starting to get that mentality and that attitude.”
Wisconsin lost to Purdue 65-52 as a 6-point underdog on Sunday as just one player – senior shooting guard Joe Krabbenhoft – reached double figures in scoring, putting up 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the field.
“We take it one game at a time,” Krabbenhoft said. “There’s the big picture right there. We take it game-by-game, and we’ll just see how things end up at the end of the season.”
Here is a look at tonight’s key trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and NCAAB Free Pick.
Minnesota’ is 15-1 SU in its last 16 games
Minnesota is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games on the road
Minnesota is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Minnesota’s last 8 games on the road
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Minnesota
Wisconsin is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Minnesota
Wisconsin’ is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Wisconsin’s last 8 games when playing Minnesota
NCAAB Odds
Minnesota +6½ -110
Wisconsin -6½ -110
Analysis: I know it’s been ages since the Golden Gophers have beaten the Badgers in Wisconsin, but these aren’t the Gophers of old! Head coach Tubby Smith is building a very solid program at Minnesota and I say this entertaining and hard-nosed group manages to get the job done tonight against a Wisconsin team that is clearly a bit on the mediocre side this season.
Simply put, I say take the Gophers to cover the spread, likely by winning outright despite being on the road.
