Preview: No.18 Wisconsin looks to rebound against Nebraska – BadgerBlitz

Nebraska (12-7, 2-6 Big Ten) vs. No. 18 Wisconsin (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Sunday, January 26, 12 noon

Arena – Kohl Center (16,838)

Watch – Big Ten Network (Kevin Coogler and Steven Bardo)

radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 106 or 195, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Wisconsin leads 22-17 (Wisconsin leads 11-4 in Madison)

last meeting – Nebraska won 80-72 in overtime on February 1, 2024. in Lincoln, Nebraska.

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Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Bet line: Wisconsin -7.5

Player to watch: With 20+ points in four of the last six games, Blackwell is averaging 21.3 points per game in January, third-highest in the conference behind Michigan’s Vlad Goldin (23.0) and Rutgers’ Ace Bailey (22.4). .

Player to watch: In Thursday’s 78-73 home loss to USC, Gary finished with a career-high 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting. Gary has scored 20 points in two of NU’s last three contests and is averaging a career high of points this season. The senior is second on the team in scoring, rebounds and blocks.

The Badgers are 16-7 against Nebraska since joining the Big Ten in 2011. and have won eight of their last 11.

In the 23 games since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, the Huskers are averaging 61.2 points per game against the Badgers.

In the last nine meetings with the Huskers, the Badgers are averaging 10.8 made 3FGs per game on 37.9% shooting from beyond the arc. The Badgers shot 23-57 (40.4 percent) from 3-point range in two meetings last season, including 13-for-26 in the win at the Kohl Center.

Since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, Wisconsin is 8-0 against the Huskers when shooting 45.0 percent or better from the field.

A win today would make UW 16-4 and mark the fourth season under Greg Gard that the Badgers have won at least 16 of their first 20 games (also 2016-17, 2021-22 and 2023-24).

Dating back to last season, Wisconsin is 27-1 in games when it holds opponents to 70 or fewer points (10-1 this year).

All five UW starters are averaging double figures in scoring — one of only four such teams in the Big Ten. UW is 28th in the NCAA in scoring at 82.5 points per game and is aiming for its first top-50 ranking in points per game since 1970-71.

Tonje has reached double figures in 17 of 19 games this season and 15+ points 11 times. He is second on the team with 38.6% shooting from 3-point range. That number climbs to 45.1 percent (23-51) from 3-point range at home.

UW is 47-15 (.770) when Crowl hits double figures, including 7-1 this season.

The Huskers are 2-1 against ranked opponents this season, and a win against the Badgers would give NU three wins over ranked teams for the first time since 2013-14.

Nebraska is one of just 15 teams in the country with at least five 1,000-point scorers on their active roster as of Jan. 20. Four of those teams are in the Big Ten with Minnesota (seven), Nebraska (five), Oregon (five) and USC (five).

The Huskers have held their last two opponents to 73.5 points per game after the previous three opponents averaged 95.3 points per game. NU held Maryland to 69 points, matching its season-low offensive total of just 1.02 PPP (points per possession). It was the lowest PPP by an NU opponent since a Jan. 4 win over UCLA. NU is already 43rd nationally in defensive efficiency entering the weekend.

Sam Hoiberg shot 73.3 percent from the field in January. The junior guard has provided a spark off the bench and is averaging 5.0 points per game with a 2.2-to-1 assist-for-loss ratio in that span.

Connor Essegian was one of the best sixth men in the Big Ten as the junior guard entered today’s game averaging 11.3 points per contest. He is one of only four Big Ten reserves currently averaging double figures while making five or fewer starters.

The Nebraska Huskers are completely average. They are scoring 76.4 points per game (134th in college basketball) while giving up 70.4 points per contest (150th in college basketball). 36.21 rebounds per game ranks them 157th nationally. Nebraska is connecting on 7.3 3-pointers per game (227th in college basketball) while shooting 33.17 percent from beyond the arc (215th in college basketball).

While the Huskers’ numbers don’t jump off the page, Nebraska has been effective in ranking 39th in adjusted defensive efficiency and 72nd in adjusted offensive efficiency, the latter just a few spots behind a UCLA team that hung 85 on the Badgers Tuesday .

Williams and Gary are the key cogs for Nebraska. They are two returning contributors who have each improved their performances despite the Huskers’ six-game hitting streak. Gary is averaging 14.4 points per game over Nebraska’s last nine games and can move between the wing and the four, while Williams has a knack for creating space to knock off his shot.

While not as small as some guards who have given the Badgers trouble this season, Williams can score some goals, as he did when he scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half against USC on Thursday. That should get UW’s attention considering its defense was the big problem in Tuesday’s loss. The Badgers were too spread out with their defense, didn’t crash the floor on hot shooters and were too slow rotating with help. This led to misses to the rim and fouls as players tried to get back into position.

The good news is that the Badgers offense has clicked in almost every game this season. UCLA is the league’s top scoring defense, and the Badgers shot over 50 percent and held the Bruins to 83 points. Not surprisingly, the Huskers are in the middle of the conference in scoring defense.

The Huskers are a different team away from the huge home court advantage at Pinnacle Bank Arena, especially on offense. The Cornhuskers are scoring 81.8 points per game at home compared to just 71.4 on the road. UW has topped 72 points 19 times this season.

The Badgers need to be better defensively than they were on Tuesday while being efficient on offense, which should be more than enough to beat Nebraska.

Worgull’s prediction: Wisconsin by 16

Record: 15-4 (14-5 ATS)

Projected Points: 158 (8.3 per game)

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