Wisconsin vs Minnesota Odds, Pick: Back Gophers?

Both Purdue and Illinois sit in KenPom's top 10, but neither team owns the best record in Big Ten play.

That honor currently stands with Wisconsin, which is 6-1 in the league. Now, the Badgers hope to avoid an upset on Tuesday night with a short trip to visit Minnesota at Williams Arena.

The Gophers sit in the bottom half of the Big Ten, but that's actually an improvement from last season. Minnesota finished in last place at 2-17 last season, but the Gophers have already won three games in seven tries, as they look to go to .500 in the league with a win on Tuesday.

Where does the betting value lie in this Big Ten battle?

Wisconsin was an 11th-place team in the Big Ten last season at 9-11, but things have turned around in Madison.

The Badgers started the season at 1-2 following consecutive losses to Tennessee and Providence, but Wisconsin has gone 13-2 in its past 15 games.

Its lone conference loss came against Penn State last Tuesday, 87-83, despite being a six-point favorite. The Badgers rallied from an early 12-point deficit to lead 70-68 with five minutes left. However, Penn State pulled away late as Wisconsin allowed the most points it has in Big Ten play all season.

Wisconsin rebounded with a 91-79 home victory over Indiana, as the Badgers shot 18-of-26 on 2-point shots. Max Klesmit lit up the Hoosiers for five 3-pointers and scored a season-high 26 points to help his team improve to 4-0 at home in the conference.

The Badgers own the 12th-toughest schedule in conference play, but that number is a bit misleading, as 10 teams in the Big Ten are 4-4 or worse in the league.

Through seven games in conference play, Wisconsin has posted the best 2-point percentage (56.3%), 3-point percentage (42%) and free-throw percentage (81.5%) among any team in the league.

Some of that can be attributed to St. John's transfer A.J. Storr. After averaging 8.7 points per game with the Red Storm, he has put up a team-high 15.3 points per contest for the Badgers.

Steven Crowl has also made an immense improvement in his shooting numbers by moving up at least 10 percentage points in 2-point shooting, 3-point shooting and free-throw shooting. Crowl converted only 28.6% of his 3-point attempts last season but has hit 12-of-23 shots from downtown this season.

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Minnesota won only nine games last season, but the Golden Gophers needed some confidence-boosting victories in nonconference play to get set for Big Ten competition.

Granted, seven wins came against teams that owned KenPom rankings of 275th or worse. However, Minnesota defeated Nebraska (which upset Purdue), Michigan and Maryland in Big Ten action, which is a massive turn from its two conference wins last season.

Since beating Maryland on Jan. 7, the Gophers have gone backward with three straight losses to Indiana, Iowa and Michigan State. Minnesota managed to cover as a 12-point underdog in a 76-66 setback in East Lansing, improving to 4-1 against the spread as a conference ‘dog.

This will be the first game in which Minnesota is facing a team that's in the top four of the Big Ten standings.

Dawson Garcia has been the most consistent scorer for the Gophers at 17.7 points per game, and he has gotten to the free-throw line 27 times in the last two games.

Minnesota ranks second in Big Ten play, shooting 55.8% on 2-point attempts, but its long-range shooting and free-throw shooting haven’t been on par.

The Gophers sit 13th in both categories in conference action but shot better from downtown against Michigan State. Minnesota went a combined 8-of-49 from 3-point range in the losses to Indiana and Iowa but hit 7-of-20 shots from long distance against Michigan State.

Wisconsin and Minnesota have both made incredible turns this season in Big Ten play after sitting on the wrong end of the conference last season.

The Gophers haven't shot the ball well from deep in conference action, but they've been a covering machine as an underdog against Big Ten foes.

This number seems short considering Wisconsin has been extremely efficient shooting the ball.

Pick: Minnesota +5 (Play to +4)

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