The No. 24 Wisconsin Badgers look to complete a regular-season sweep of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday, February 17th. Tip-off is at 7:30 PM on Fox Sports 1, and the Badgers are 1.5-point favorites.
The Badgers now find themselves ranked in the AP Poll for the first time since late November, thanks to a dominating win over then-No. 10 Michigan State, 92-71. The Badgers’ defense was stellar in limiting Michigan State star Jeremy Fears Jr. to only 14 points on 3-of-12 shots from the floor. Nick
Boyd was the player of the game for Wisconsin with 20 first-half points and finished with a team-high 29 points in the victory. On Monday, Boyd was named Player of the Week by the Big Ten Conference.
Turning our attention to Ohio State, what has changed for the Buckeyes since our last meeting at the Kohl Center?
Opponent Preview
It has been one step forward and one step backward for Jake Diebler and Ohio State. After their 92-82 loss on January 31st in Madison, the Buckeyes alternated wins at Maryland and at home against USC with losses at home to Michigan and on a neutral court to Virginia. Their 70-66 loss to Virginia in Nashville last Saturday drops them to 0-8 in Quad 1 games and keeps them on the outside looking in for the NCAA tournament.
A big reason why Ohio State has lost its last two games has been rebounding. The Buckeyes were outrebounded in their 82-61 home loss to Michigan, 43-31, and in their loss to Virginia, 43-26.
Bruce Thornton continues to lead the Buckeyes, averaging 20.5 PPG since their loss to Wisconsin. The senior guard has been the leading scorer for Ohio State in their last three games, including a 28-point performance in that loss to Virginia.
The Buckeyes will likely be without second-leading scorer John Mobley Jr., who sustained a hand injury in their 89-82 win over USC back on February 11th. Taison Chatman got the start in Mobley Jr’s sport against Virginia and scored four points on 2-of-5 shots from the floor.
Score Prediction
The Badgers should expect a desperate Buckeyes’ team to play with energy right from the start in front of their home crowd. This is an Ohio State team that needs every win it can gather, or they will miss the NCAA Tournament for the fourth-straight season. That will not sit well with the folks in Columbus.
Wisconsin comes into this game having won four of its last five games at Value City Arena and has shown it can win major road games under Greg Gard. If the Badgers can contain Thornton and win the rebounding battle, then they will come out of Columbus with another road victory.
Prediction: Wisconsin 84-79
