Indiana Hoosiers at Wisconsin Badgers

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Wisconsin Badgers (-13.5)
Game Total Line: (127)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The Indiana Hoosiers travel to the Kohl Center in Madison this Thursday night to tangle with the Wisconsin Badgers in a Big 10 matchup. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

Indiana snapped a six-game losing streak with an impressive 80-61 victory over Michigan as a 2.5-point home favorite this past Saturday. In their last two games on the road, the Hoosiers lost to Minnesota 67-63 as a nine-point underdog and Northwestern 93-81 as a 6.5-point underdog. They are currently 10-8 straight-up overall (5-7 against the spread) and 1-4 SU in the Big 10.

Sophomore forward Christian Watford leads Indiana in scoring, with an average of 16.4 points per game as well as rebounds, with 5.8 per game. Junior guard Verdell Jones leads in assists with 3.7 and is second in scoring with 12.8 points a game. Another sophomore, Jordan Hulls is also scoring in double-figures with an average of 10 points a game.

The Hoosiers are shooting 49.2 percent from the field, which is ninth best in the nation and averaging 75 points a game. They are hitting 38.7 percent of their three-point attempts and converting on 70.3 percent of their foul shots. Indiana’s biggest problem has been under the boards where it is averaging just 35 rebounds a game.

Wisconsin followed up a tough 64-61 OT loss to No. 18 Michigan State on Jan. 11 as a 4.5-point road underdog with a 10-point 76-66 victory over Illinois as a six-point home favorite this past Saturday. The win moved the Badgers to 13-4 SU and 9-4 ATS for the season. They are currently 3-2 SU in the conference.

This team features two players that know how to put points on the board. Senior forward Jon Leuer is averaging 19.2 points and 7.4 rebounds a game, while junior guard Jordan Taylor is averaging 17 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game.

Wisconsin is averaging 70 points a game and is slightly worse than Indiana in rebounding, with an average of 34 a game. The Badgers are shooting a respectable 44 percent from the field and 37.4 percent from beyond the three-point line, but have been lights out from the free-throw line; converting on 81.3 percent of their attempts.

Indiana is 1-5 ATS in its last six games on the road and 2-6 ATS in its last eight games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in three of its last four games.

Wisconsin is 4-1 ATS in its last five home games and 6-2 ATS in its last eight games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in four of its last five games.

Head-to-head, the Badgers have won eight of the last 10 games SU, including the last six straight. Wisconsin is 6-0 ATS in the last six meetings as well and the total has gone ‘over’ in three of the last five.

Against the Spread Game Pick

I figured that the Badgers would open around a 15 to 17-point home favorite which would be consistent with the last two times these teams met in Madison. The linesmaker has been generous opening this game at only 13.5. Despite the high spread for a conference matchup, Indiana will be hard-pressed to keep this game closer than 20 points. Stick with Wisconsin to follow suit of the recent trends in this series with another big win.
Take the Badgers -13.5 at SportsInteraction and grab a free $125!