Wisconsin basketball looks to rebound against Washington on Tuesday night following a heartbreaking loss to Oregon. Continue reading for a full Wisconsin vs Washington prediction and preview.
Wisconsin stayed put as the 11th ranked team in the country after blowing out Illinois and falling to Oregon last week. Meanwhile, Washington has been perhaps the worst team in the Big Ten this season, having gone just 4-12 in conference play.
Game information:
Teams: Wisconsin (21-6, 11-5) and Washington (13-14, 4-12)
Tip Time: 8 p.m. CST
Watch: Peacock
Listen: Badger Radio Network
Latest on Washington basketball:
There is no way around it… first year head coach Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies have had a rough go of it this season. There was hope going into the year, as Sprinkle brought star forward Great Osobor with him from Utah State. However, Osobor has been the only bright spot for the Huskies all year long, averaging 15 points per game. While Osobor might pose some problems for smaller teams, his size (6’8 250 lbs) and lack of shooting ability (26.3 percent three-point shooter) means that he should not be a problem for Nolan Winter, Steven Crowl, or Carter Gilmore to defend against.
Washington’s offense has not been as bad as their record may indicate, as they score 72.6 points per game. The problem is that they give up 74.1 points per game. The Huskies’ biggest problem will be guarding Wisconsin and staying with them off of screens, as Wisconsin has been one of the top three-point shooting team in the country.
For Washington to pull off the road upset, they are going to need everything to go right (and maybe a little luck). Osobor simply needs to keep working inside. Franck Kepnang, their center, is going to need to help out on the glass. Kepnang, 6’11 will have a weight advantage over both Steven Crowl and Nolan Winter. Their freshmen guard, Vazoumana Diallo, put up a career-high 20 points two games ago against Iowa. He may need to replicate that performance against Wisconsin.
Latest on Wisconsin basketball:
Wisconsin is coming off of an embarrassing loss to Oregon at home. Leading early in the second half by 16, the Badgers would score just two points over the final six minutes of regulation, as the Ducks would force overtime. One of the main causes of the defeat was a season-high 17 turnovers, but Wisconsin’s ball security has been solid for most of the season. They average just 10.1 turnovers per game. Losing in this way is going to have Wisconsin coming out of the gates hot against Washington.
Despite the loss, Wisconsin played 25 or so minutes of good basketball on Saturday. John Tonje remained in cruise control scoring 22 points. Tonje has at least 20 points in eight out of Wisconsin’s past nine games.
Wisconsin vs Washington prediction: Badgers by 21
Wisconsin is undoubtedly a more talented team than Washington, and they are going to come out fired up tonight. Wisconsin’s off ball movement, which became stagnant down the stretch against Oregon, should wreak havoc against the Huskies.