Wisconsin Basketball Northwestern Game Preview, chances of winning, prediction

This story has been updated to add new information.

Wisconsin basketball (16-5, 6-4 big ten) continues his important street games on Saturday with a matchup against the Northwestern Wildcats (12-9, 3-7 big ten).

The game will be the fourth street game in the last five competitions. The team is 2-2 to start these hard schedules, with victories against USC and Nebraska and close losses against UCLA and Maryland. A victory against Northwestern is necessary. The upcoming trips to Iowa and Purdue ensure six street games in eight overall games.

Related: Wisconsin trainer Greg Gard discusses how Badgers can avoid the fights in February in February

The Badgers are only 2-4 in real street games this season: victories against USC and Rutgers as well as losses against Illinois, Marquette, UCLA and Maryland. The team that changes this rate in February and the rest of the regular season could prove the difference in its search for a top seed in the Big Ten and NCAA tournament.

Wisconsin has to begin this with a win against the wildcats on Saturday. Further information on the Matchup can be found in the latest betting and a complete preview of how the two teams match:

Wisconsin against Northwestern betting chances

Quotas with the kind permission of BetMGM

Point distribution: Wisconsin Minus-2 1/2, Northwestern Plus-2 1/2

Money line: Wisconsin Minus-145, Northwestern Plus-118

Over-uner: 142 1/2

Statistical preview

Kenpom:

• Wisconsin: No. 17 overall (offensive efficiency No. 9, defensive efficiency No. 46)
• Northwest: No. 51 Total (No. 75 Criminal offense, No. 42 Defense)

ESPN BPI:

• Wisconsin: No. 22 overall (15.4) – No. 5 in the Big Ten
• Northwest: No. 47 Total (11.2) – No. 10 in the Big Ten

2024-25 average values:

• Wisconsin: 81.8 points per game (46.7% shoot, 36.1% from 3), 70.6 points per game (41.5% shoot, 32.2% from 3)
• Northwest: 74.1 points per game (44.3% shoot, 33.1% from 3), 69.4 points per game (43.5% shoot, 33.5% from 3)

ESPN MATCHUP predictor:

• Wisconsin 54.5% chance of winning, northwest 45.5%

Wisconsin important players

• G John Blackwell (16.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists shoot at 48.5%)
• G Max Klesmit (10.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists at 33.3% shoot)
• wing John Tonje (18.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists shoot at 47.1%)
• C Steven Crowl (10.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists shoot at 55.2%)
• F Nolan Winter (10.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists shoot at 59.7%)

Northwestern key player

• F Nick Martinelli (19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists shoot at 48.6%)
• G Brooks Barnhizer (17.1 points, 8.8 rebounds, 4.2 assists shoot at 41.4%)
• G Jalen Leach (14.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists shoot at 45.1%)
• G Ty Berry (8.5 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist at 37.4% shoot)
• C Matthew Nicholson (4.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists shoot at 60%)

Wisconsin vs. northwestern prediction, pick

The game on Saturday could swing the dynamics for both teams. Both enter the loss of stripes – Wisconsin with two defeats in three games and northwest with six out of eight. While Wisconsin is the better team on paper, Northwestern has some factors that could swing the competition. First, the team is 10-2 at home this season compared to 0: 6 on the street. Wisconsin occurs with a 2-4 mark in real street games. These trends indicate the closing competition.

The wildcats are also one of the few big ten teams with a player who can keep up with the production of Wisconsin Wing John Tonje. The striker Nick Martinelli achieved an average of 19.6 points when shooting 48.6%. He has the ability to turn the scale in favor of the northwest if Wisconsin has no response to the defense.

The Badgers defense on Martinelli and the Rebounding team will be the key to a street. You also have to shoot the ball much better than against Maryland (33.3% from the three-point area) so that the result can turn around cheaply.

All of this said, I think Wisconsin has too much offensive firepower for Northwestern to keep up. Apart from 50 points, apart from Martinelli and Barnhizer, the Badgers should win.

Forecast: Wisconsin 78, northwest 71

Wisconsin against Northwestern Channel, start time, streaming:

Wisconsin vs. Northwestern begins at 2 p.m., 1 pm CT and can be seen on Fox Sports 1 and streamed on Fox Sports.

Observe Wisconsin against Northwestern Live on Fubo (Free Test version)

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