NCAA basketball betting players watched the final unbeaten team in the country fall as Wisconsin took down Ohio State in a massive game, but now they have to turn around and head to Purdue, where they haven’t won in six years and the Boilermakers will want to avenge a tough loss at Wisconsin from two weeks ago.
The No.10 Badgers (19-5, 9-3) overcame a 15-point deficit to drop then-No.1 Ohio State 71-67 at home, and Jordan Taylor was the story as he poured in 27 points, including 21 in the second half as Wisconsin stormed back. Jon Leuer had 12 points, as did Mike Bruesewitz, who came off the bench to hit a couple of big three-pointers for the Badgers, who were 12-of-24 from beyond the arc. At the NHL trade deadline, teams will be looking for resilient players, and Taylor was the epitome of that on Saturday as he put the Badgers on his back in a highly emotional win, but you have to wonder if they have enough left in the tank to head into Purdue.
The No.11 Boilermakers (20-5, 9-3) pulled away in the second half of an 81-70 win at Illinois, outscoring the Fighting Illini by 16 points after halftime. JuJuan Johnson led the way with 24 points and nine rebounds, while E’Twaun Moore added 20 for the Boilermakers, who out rebounded Illinois 37-25 and forced 14 turnovers. Johnson and Moore showed a lot of senior leadership in helping their team stay cool in a hostile environment, and the Boilermakers haven’t missed a beat this year without the injured Robbie Hummel.
Wisconsin used a lot of energy and emotion to come back against the No.1 team in the country, and we’re not sure that they have enough left to go to Purdue and pull out a win. Combine that with the fact that they haven’t won at Purdue in a while anyway, and the revenge factor from a couple of weeks ago, and we’re going to wager on Purdue to cover the online sports betting spread on Wednesday.
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