The Badgers are kicking off their final week of the season with the Border Battle.
The No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers look to make it nine straight wins over border rival Minnesota on Wednesday at Williams Arena. Tip-off is at 7:30 P.M. CT on the Big Ten Network, with Wisconsin a 7.5-point favorite.
In their last matchup, the underdog Gophers stormed out to an early 15-5 lead at the Kohl Center before the Badgers climbed back to take a 30-29 lead at halftime. After intermission, it was all Badgers, as Wisconsin scored 50 points in the second half to blitz Minnesota 80-59.
What has happened to the Gophers since their last meeting at Wisconsin?
Opponent Preview
Ben Johnson’s Gophers team has gone 7-6 since their blowout loss at Wisconsin and has picked up some rather impressive victories over Michigan, Oregon, and on the road at UCLA. Despite these wins, the Gophers have lost their last four home games, which include losses to Washington, Penn State, and Northwestern.
The Gophers defeated Nebraska in Lincoln 67-65 in their last game. Minnesota led 47-28 in the second half before the Cornhuskers climbed back to tie the game at 54 on a Juwan Gary free throw with 6:28 left. Nebraska took a 65-64 lead on a Gary layup with under ten seconds left, but Brennan Rigsby, who had a career-best 20 points off the bench, drilled a three-pointer with four seconds left to give the Gophers the win.
Dawson Garcia continues to dominate for the Gophers. Garcia, whose three-pointer from the Minnesota logo upset no. 20 Michigan in overtime on January 16th, has averaged 20.3 points per game since the Wisconsin loss. Garcia also ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 7.6 rebounds per game in conference games. While Garcia tweaked an ankle against Nebraska, he is expected to play.
Right behind Garcia in scoring is Lu’Cye Patterson, with 13.2 points per game since January 10th. Patterson had his best game at USC on February 15th, where he scored 25 points. Femi Odukale has emerged as the Gophers leader in assists (3.6), steals (1.4), and blocks (1.2) per game.
Score Prediction
It will be Minnesota’s Senior Day, but the seniors who will be honored have never defeated Wisconsin. In addition, the Gophers might be fighting for Ben Johnson’s job on Wednesday so that Minnesota will be playing with extraordinary momentum in Wednesday night’s tussle.
While the Badgers have won their last three games at Williams Arena, they have been down-to-the-wire contests. I predict this game will follow suit, but the Badgers will do enough damage on offense to escape Minnesota with a win.
Prediction: Wisconsin 81-75.