The Wisconsin Badgers face the Washington Huskies in the Big Ten tournament’s third round at the United Center in Chicago. Tipoff is at 1:30 PM CT on the Big Ten Network, and the Badgers are favored by 6.5 points.
Wisconsin completed its regular season with another impressive win on the road against 15th-ranked Purdue, 97-93. It was a stellar three-point shooting display for the Badgers, as they connected on a school-record 12 three pointers in the first half on their way to 18 threes total in the game.
John Blackwell and Nick Boyd combined for 48 points in the massive road win.
Looking ahead, the last time the Huskies played in Seattle on February 28, Braeden Carrington scored 32 points in a 90-73 win. What has changed for the Huskies since facing the Badgers?
Opponent Preview
Danny Sprinkle’s team finished the regular season with a 15-16 record and a 7-13 conference record. In their last two regular-season games, the Huskies used a 51-point second half to blister the USC Trojans 91-72 in Seattle on March 4th. However, the Huskies laid an egg in Eugene for most of the second half in their regular-season finale last Saturday. Despite a frantic comeback to take a late lead, Washington fell at Oregon, 85-79.
In the second round of the Big Ten tournament, Washington defeated USC for the third time this season, 83-79 in overtime. The Huskies, who mounted a double-digit second-half comeback to force overtime, were led by Zoom Diallo’s 22 points and 11 assists on the day. Washington also got major help from guard Quimari Patterson, who made a season-high five three-pointers in the win.
Diallo and Hannes Steinbach remain the Huskies’ go-to players, with Diallo averaging 20.6 points per game in the last three games. Steinbach has averaged 19.3 points in that three-game stretch, including 16 rebounds per game. Against USC, Steinbach collected a career-high 24 rebounds in the Huskies’ March 4th win over USC.
Score Prediction
While some fans might not like playing in the Big Ten tournament, Braeden Carrington made it clear. The Badger players want to win this tournament.
Now, the potential loss of Winter will be massive against the Steinbach, but the Badgers are getting a tired Huskies team. Look for the Badgers to start out aggressively and maintain their focus on a Washington team ready for the offseason.
Prediction: Wisconsin 89-81
