#14 Michigan State @ Wisconsin
1:00 p.m. ET FOX
Opening Spread: Wisconsin +3
Current Spread: Wisconsin +4.5
Projected Spread: Wisconsin +6.5
(All odds as of Friday evening via VegasInsider.com)
It’s been one rough week for Greg Gard and the Wisconsin Badger basketball program. After blowing a 12 point second-half lead in Tuesday night’s 68-62 loss in Iowa City, junior guard Kobe King announced his intentions to leave the program. King was the Badgers second-leading scorer at 10.0 ppg and his absence thrusts role players Tyler Wahl and Trevor Andersen into significant minutes.
To make matters worse, junior guard Brad Davison is suspended for Saturday’s contest for his late-game cheap shot on Iowa’s Connor McCaffery. Not the best time to welcome Michigan State into the Kohl Center. With no King or Davison, generating consistent offense will be a challenge against Sparty’s 17th rated defense (according to KenPom). When these two teams met on January 17th, the Badgers shot 35% (21-59) from the field, 21% from three (4-19) and were outrebounded 41-32 in a 67-55 loss.
The Spartans appear to be hitting their stride in Big Ten play following back to back double-digit victories over Minnesota and Northwestern. In their last two games, the Spartans are shooting 40% from beyond the arc (19-47), while holding their opponents to under 32% from the field (35-111). The shorthanded Badgers are still no slouch and winning at the Kohl Center is never easy, but tomorrow presents a solid spot for the Spartans to continue their hot play.
Play: Michigan State -4.5 (up to -6.5)