Rutgers vs. Wisconsin Prediction: Can Tyler Wahl, Badgers Get Back on Track Tonight?
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights travel Madison, Wisconsin to take on the Badgers on Thursday night. Can Tyler Wahl and the Badgers get back on track tonight? Ben Rajavuori answers.
Ben Rajavuori - March 7, 2024, 4:57 PM EST
5 minRutgers vs. Wisconsin Prediction: Can Tyler Wahl, Badgers Get Back on Track Tonight?
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights travel to Madison, Wisconsin, tonight to take on the Badgers. The Scarlet Knights enter this game with a record of 15–14, floating just above .500 on the season, while they are 7–11 in conference play. On the other side, the Badgers enter this game with an 18–11 record and a 10–8 record in conference play. The Badgers have dropped two of their last nine games and have now fallen out of the rankings, although they are still seemingly holding onto an at-large bid at the moment. If they were to drop these final two games of the season, that bid may be in jeopardy. This is an important game for them at home that they must win in statement fashion. What should we expect?
Rutgers vs. Wisconsin DATE, TIME, AND WHERE TO WATCH
- Date: March 7, 2024
- Game Time: 7:00 pm ET
- Where to Watch: FS1
Rutgers vs. Wisconsin Prediction
Rutgers has not been up to standard this year under Steve Pikiell. While they have had a few good wins this season, they have fallen short in almost every big game they have played. However, they did play very well against Wisconsin in the first meeting of the season, as they won 78–56 at home back on February 10. In that game, Jeremiah Williams had a game-high 18 points on 6–15 shooting, and Clifford Omoruyi had 13 points on 6–11 shooting. The offense was clicking in that game for Rutgers, which is not a very common thing to say for this team. They rank dead in the Big Ten in offensive efficiency and struggle mightily on the road on offense.
Wisconsin had a red-hot start to the season and flew out of the gates with a 16–4 record over their first 20 games. That record put them as high as number six in the nation in the Week 13 rankings before their downfall. They are now 2–7 over the last nine games and have struggled to win any quad-one games over that stretch. However, tonight they have a very good matchup and have a chance for revenge after losing 22 in New Jersey back in February.
While Tyler Wahl and Wisconsin are 1-9 against the spread over their last ten games, this is an interesting spot for them to bounce back in. What I like more in this game than taking Wisconsin on the full game spread is taking them in the first half. Wisconsin is a much stronger first-half team this season, while Rutgers has been worse in the first half than the second half. Wisconsin ranks 63rd in the nation in first-half lead margin, while they rank 118th in second-half margin. Rutgers ranks 229th in first-half margin and 111th in second-half margin. Because of this, I am backing Wisconsin to come out with a fire under their ass in this game to try and close the season strong with a big win on senior night in Madison. Take Wisconsin to be leading this game by six or more at the half.
Rutgers vs. Wisconsin Pick
Pick: Wisconsin First Half -5.5 -110 Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds
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