Somebody has to win in the Wisconsin at Ohio State betting matchup, good news for two teams that are a combined 2-13 in their last 15 games. The Badgers have dropped six of seven while OSU is in a stretch of defeats in seven of their last eight.
Usually in a game between a couple of schools that have dropped to the bottom four of their conference you might call it a toss-up, but somewhat surprisingly the Buckeyes are -7.5 favorites for this matchup. The betting public seems to think that number is on the high side as well, with 74% liking UW plus the points.
Why Wisconsin Can Cover +7.5 Points
There’s not a ton to like about Wisconsin in this matchup, but the best thing they have going for them is that this should be a low scoring game making it harder to be a blowout. The Badgers run the 13th slowest pace in the entire country, and have the 5th best scoring defense in the Big Ten at 63.3 ppg.
The Badgers have held four of their last five opponents to 66 points or less while at the same time the Ohio State defense has allowed at least 68 in 7 of their last 8. The Buckeyes just gave up 86 points on Saturday to Indiana, so even UW’s atrocious offense has a chance to put up some numbers in the Wisconsin at Ohio State betting matchup.
Wisconsin does have Tyler Wahl back in the lineup and he’s one of three players that score at least 12 ppg. Steven Crowl had a nice 21 point, 11 rebound outing in the Badgers’ last win on January 17th against Penn State (63-60) and Chucky Hepburn is coming off 15/5 in Saturday’s 61-51 loss to Illinois.
Why Ohio State Can Cover -7.5 Points
The Buckeyes are just 11-10 on the season, but in Columbus they have gone an impressive 8-2 on the season. Aside from a completely random 70-67 home loss to last place Minnesota as a -14 point favorite on January 12th, Ohio State’s only other defeat on their own court came 71-69 to Purdue, the #1 team in the country.
Ohio State has had some struggles on defense recently, but the Wisconsin offense that is the second lowest scoring team in the Big Ten (65.1) can make anybody look good. The Badgers have scored 55 points or less in three of their last five.
OSU has much more scoring upside in Thursday night’s game led by Brice Sensabaugh who has scored 18+ in 9 of the last 10 games. The Buckeyes are the #3 scoring team in the Big Ten at 76.7 ppg.
Free Wisconsin at Ohio State Betting Pick
Roughly 3/4 of the betting public likes the Badgers here, but playing the +7.5 takes some guts as Wisconsin hasn’t covered the spread since a 78-75 OT win at Iowa on December 11th as +4 point underdogs, a span of 10 games.
OSU is only 1-7 ATS their last 8 games, but with that many bettors on Wisconsin and the line staying firm points to a big Buckeyes victory.
Free Pick: Ohio State -7.5
