Fresh off an 86-70 win over the Michigan State Spartans, the No. 5-seeded Wisconsin Badgers are facing off against the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans on Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals, with tip-off set for approximately 12:00 p.m.
After playing a close game against the Northwestern Wildcats in the second round, the Badgers exploded out of the gate, hitting six of their first seven threes, with John Tonje and John Blackwell leading the way, and they never stopped.
Wisconsin hit 19 threes in the win, tying a Big Ten Tournament record and coming second in school history behind their 21 threes against the Iowa Hawkeyes back in January.
The Badgers also played stellar defense, forcing tough shots in the paint and holding UCLA to just 32.4 percent from the field. The combination of strong shooting and elite defense led Wisconsin to a statement win, as they were leading by as much as 27 points late in the game before pulling their starters.
Moving on, Wisconsin will take on the No. 1-seeded Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, looking to get revenge on their regular season loss, just like they did with UCLA.
Michigan State opened its Big Ten Tournament against the Oregon Ducks on Friday, moving forward with a 74-64 win. They forced Oregon to shoot just 4/19 from three, while controlling a slower-paced game for the entire second half to get to the semifinals.
Back in the first meeting between the two teams, Wisconsin played Michigan State close, but shot a putrid 5/32 from deep, which wasn’t enough in a 71-62 loss. However, they were without Max Klesmit, who is back and healthy, and are looking for revenge on Saturday.
What are all of the odds ahead of the game?
Opening Odds
Spread: Michigan State -3.5
Over/under points: 145.5 points
Channel: CBS
Time: 1:00 p.m. Central
The lines opened at -1.5 for Michigan State, but continue to shift in the Spartans’ favor, which is telling. The Spartans are now a 3.5-point favorite, but it should be another close one at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday.
