The No.21 Wisconsin Badgers have a knack for getting hot at the right time and being in the thick of it when the NCAA tournament rolls around and will look to win their third game in a row vs the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are on life support after two hard losses vs Purdue and Northwestern and will be without leading scorer Kaleb Wesson for this Big 10 tilt.
The Badgers opened as 2.5-point favorites with a total of 123.5.
Wisconsin vs Ohio State Game Center
STANDOUT STATS
- Wisconsin has been letting spread-bettors down lately with a 1-5-1 ATS record over its last 6 games but is 5-3-1 ATS in nine road games in conference play. Historically, they have been a losing bet when playing at Ohio State at 2-5 ATS in their last 7 trips to Value City Arena.
- A key factor will be the three-point line. Wisconsin’s shooting has been great this season and shooting 37.6 percent from behind the arc (rated 42) on 19.4 attempts (rated 291) but Ohio State is holding teams to 32.5 percent on 20.5 attempts (rated 83rd).
- Ohio State’s offense has been night and day for home and road splits lately. Since the start of January, they’re averaging 54.5 points in nine road games and 70.5 points in eight home games. The Buckeyes are 4-4 SU and 3-5 ATS in those outings.
- Ohio State may be scoring more points at home but they’ll be without their leading scorer, Kaleb Wesson, is out of the game due to suspension. Wesson averages 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds and in the two games without him, the Buckeyes scored a combined 101 points and lost both games by double-digits
- The total has gone UNDER in 11 of Wisconsin's last 14 games (average combined score 124.7) and six of their last eight games on the road.
My Best Bet for Wisconsin vs Ohio State
Wisconsin -2.5
This one came down to matchups for me as there were a lot of similarities as far as scoring and rebounding but the Buckeyes' main player who does that for them is gone. Wesson’s absence is a huge blow and will allow Badgers center Ethan Happ to roam free and pick apart Ohio State from the elbow.
It may be a small sample size but I don’t think you can ignore that the Buckeyes only were able to put up 51 and 50 points vs Northwestern and Purdue without Wesson. They do not have much scoring depth. The spread for Wisconsin is small enough that I think they should win this game handily and that even if it comes down to the final minute, your spread bet isn’t dead since it’s such a small margin. I think Wisconsin’s efficient shooting and tough defense will win this bet.
