Dave's College Basketball Picks: Wisconsin at Minnesota

Wisconsin (18-10, 9-7) at Minnesota (20-8, 8-8)

Line: Wisconsin -1

Wisconsin beat Michigan 60-55 on Sunday, but failed to cover the spread. Tied for fourth place in the Big Ten standings, Wisconsin can put some distance between themselves and fifth place Minnesota with a victory here. A final home game against Indiana figures to be a cake walk leading into postseason. Wisconsin lost by four points against the Gophers back on January 15.

A 41-52 loss to Illinois on Saturday dropped Minnesota into a three-way tie for sixth in the conference standings. The Gophers launched an amazing sixty shots from the field and made just 19 of them (31.7 percent). Fifteen offensive boards led to the additional opportunities to miss a shot. But at least they did control the boards. Only six players scored for Minnesota, which is unusual for the deep bench Tubby Smith uses.

ATS:

Wisconsin is 11-14-1 against the spread including 5-5-1 on the road

Minnesota is 11-12 against the spread including 7-5 at home.

The wrong team is favored here. Both teams have incentive to play well. Minnesota has the Senior Day home crowd and a great home record. Freshman Ralph Sampson III has been playing very well lately and should be able to have a major impact against a smaller Wisconsin lineup.

Dave’s Pick: Minnesota straight up

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