The Nebraska Cornhuskers find themselves slight home favorites as they host Wisconsin on Tuesday night in the 1/9 college basketball free pick. Both teams are coming off road losses but the ‘Huskers have the advantage playing on their own court. Nebraska is 8-1 at the Pinnacle Bank Arena while the Badgers are just 1-3 away from Madison. There’s been line movement in this contest, with Nebraska being -1.5 after opening at -2.5. Is that the right line movement – or an advantage?
Inconsistency Marring Badgers Season
Wisconsin fans are going zany trying to figure out what they have in their hoops team this season. This is a group that has back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in coach Greg Gard’s two coaching years but this year they posted a 19 point home loss to in-state rival Marquette – as five point favorites. The Badgers then rattled off five straight wins so it looked like things were turning around. Then, the last time out UW loses 60-64 at Rutgers as five team favorites. It’s not hard to see why this team is a bit maddening.
The biggest thing to look at in the 1/9 college basketball free pick is how bad Wisconsin has been on the road. They’ve dropped three of four away from their home court including two straight. UW has played just one road contest in the past month and they’ve failed to score over 65 in any true road tilt this season. The Badgers rank 286th in the country in points scored but do have a top 40 defense to keep this contest close. These factors contribute to why oddsmakers are having such a tough time setting a line for tonight’s contest.
Wisconsin #Badgers at Nebraska #Huskers. Fairly competitive Big Ten rivalry on the hardwood. #GBR #B1G https://t.co/TgZa5ByNVd
— Lamont Epp (@lrepp33) January 9, 2018
Is Nebraska a Different Hoops Team at Home?
The Cornhuskers aren’t exactly a model of consistency for the 1/9 college basketball free pick either. Nebraska has won eight of nine games at home this season, with the only loss being a one pointer (72-73) to #12 Kansas. Nebraska has wins over Minnesota and Boston College on their home court and has gone to Northwestern to get a 15 point win as +7.5 ‘dogs. The Cornhuskers have four losses in their last 10 games – but all to ranked teams that includes KU, at #22 Creighton (62-72), #4 Michigan State (57-86), and #7 Purdue (62-74).
Oddsmakers are expecting each team to score somewhere in the 60s as they’ve set the O/U at 132. This is about par for the course for Nebraska which averages just under 70 points per game. The Nebraska defense will have to stop UW’s Ethan Happ who has been inconsistent lately with 18,18,28, and 10 points in his last four games. James Palmer, Jr. should provide a good counter for Nebraska as he’s scored 18+ in four of the last five.
Wisconsin is on a downward spiral this season while Nebraska is starting to rise up. @walther924 looked at tonight’s matchup between the Badgers and the Huskers. https://t.co/QBaeCYAmVp
— Busting Brackets (@BustingBrackets) January 9, 2018
1/9 College Basketball Free Pick Betting
The Badgers are just 2-7-2 ATS in their last 11 road games and are 0-3-1 ATS in their last four vs teams with a winning percentage above .600. The Cornhuskers are 4-0 ATS their last four home games and 6-0 ATS their last six overall. There’s a lot of people (over 70%) liking the Cornhuskers at home – which isn’t ideal based on the line movement. Regardless though, a UW bet is on name alone – the Corned ones should get this as they push towards a tournament berth.
Pick: Nebraska Cornhuskers -1.5
