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Wisconsin at Minnesota
Badgers Seek Revenge
2/18/10
Short on time today so we'll keep this write up brief. Wisconsin is on the road tonight to take on Minnesota and you have to like this spot for the Badgers. Wisconsin lost their high scorer, 6 foot 10 Jon Leuer 9 games ago yet still managed to go 6-3 without him and maintained their position as one of the top teams in the country and still remains in the hunt for the Big 10 title as we head down the stretch, with a favorable schedule to boot.
Well, Big John returns tonight. It's not a certainty that he'll play, but just the emotional boost of his presence on the bench, in uniform will have an impact. We liked Wisconsin without Leuer. This is just a bonus. Currently, Wisconsin is a 1 point underdog at sportsbook.com. All we are being asked to do here is pick the straight up winner of this game. We have one of the better teams in the nation going up against an inferior opponent who has struggled down the stretch, losing 6 of their last 8 including a loss Sunday to Northwestern in a game they led by 13 points.
During their recent slide the Gophers have been averaging just 66 points per game compared to a season average of 75, and now they must take on a defensive monster like the Badgers who give up on average just 56 points per game. Minnesota will also have the Badgers attention as a result of having beaten Wisconsin twice last year. They even came from 14 points down at Wisconsin to win in overtime after sinking a 3 pointer to tie the game at the end of regulation. This will be the only time these two play this season, so only one crack at revenge for the Badgers.
Games like this are truly no brainers from a handicapping perspective. It's not that it's a guaranteed winner. We all know there's no such thing. But you'll win a game like this more than 53 times out of 100, for sure. The superior team playing at the most crucial time of the season against a struggling opponent. The emotional edge that goes with getting your start forward back and the added motivation of pay back from a year ago. It all adds up. It likely won't be easy but expect a fully focused effort and a straight up win from Wisconsin tonight. We have Wisconsin winning this one 63-59. As this is being written there are +1.5's showing on the board. At +2 or better this lay would be a best bet. Either way, we'd play it up to Wisky -1.
Hoops Plays coming soon!