Minnesota vs. Wisconsin prediction and odds for Tuesday, January 3 (Back Golden Gophers)

It’s been a while since the Minnesota Golden Gophers took the floor. Their last game was Dec. 22, so they’ve had a nice holiday break and should be fresh for their matchup with No. 14 Wisconsin in Madison.

The Badgers are 10-2 after beating Western Michigan last time out, but it’ll be all Big 10 matchups the rest of the way. Wisconsin will want to do better than the share of the regular season conference title that they got last season.

Let’s get into the odds for some Tuesday night Big 10 basketball with Wisconsin as big favorites at home.

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Odds, Spread and Total

Minnesota vs. Wisconsin Prediction and Pick

Wisconsin is a very good basketball team, and it is built to win a lot of games and be a surprise similar to last year. The Badgers have quickly climbed to No. 14 in the country by winning those games, but it’s not because of margin of victory.

The Badgers have won big in their last two games, but those were against Western Michigan and Lehigh, both teams outside of the KenPom top 300. Outside of those two games, in their last six victories have come by a combined 18 points.

Wisconsin also plays at a very slow pace, not typically conducive to blowouts. It is 320th in possessions per game and Minnesota, 288th, should be happy to join them in bleeding out the 30-second shot clock. The Badgers will win this one, but to win by 13 points, they’ll need to shoot the lights out. They’re shooting 38.1% from 3 this season, but they shot nearly 45% from 3 last game, so there could be some shooting regression coming tonight.

Minnesota’s fresh legs might help it win a few loose balls or extra rebounds, not enough to win this one outright, but I like the Golden Gophers to cover.

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change