The Wisconsin Badgers aim for their 11th straight win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Wednesday, January 27th. Tip-off is at 8:00 PM on the Big Ten Network, and the Badgers are 8.5-point favorites.
The Badgers enter this game motivated after collapsing in the second half to USC last Sunday, 73-71. Three-point shooting, an emphasis for Wisconsin’s offense, doomed the Badgers, as the team shot a poor 9-for-37 from behind the arc. While Nick Boyd put up a stellar 29 points, no one else stepped up.
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Turning attention to Minnesota, what has changed for the Gophers since our last meeting at Williams Arena?
Opponent Preview
When we last saw Minnesota, the Badgers held a six-point lead with two minutes to go. However, the Gophers mounted a comeback. After Nolan Winter missed two free throws, Minnesota tied the game on a long, high-arching three-pointer from Cade Tyson to tie the score at 75. That set up this heroic three-pointer from John Blackwell to win the game at the buzzer.
Since that game, the Gophers, who had lost an overtime game to USC prior to Wisconsin, have now lost five straight games. Two of their losses came on the road against Illinois, 77-67 on January 17th, and in overtime at Ohio State on January 20th. Last Saturday, Minnesota had a halftime lead over no. 7 Nebraska but allowed 46 points in the second half and fell 76-57. As Niko Medved put it, the Gophers “lost their spirit.”
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Tyson remains the Gophers’ top scorer at 20.0 points per game, ranking third in the Big Ten, and leads his team with a 40.0% three-point shooting percentage. Tyson’s scoring has often set Minnesota’s offensive tone, but he left the last game against Nebraska with an ankle injury. According to Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Tyson is “doubtful to play” on Wednesday.
If Tyson is out, Wisconsin’s defensive focus should shift to Jaylen Crocker-Johnson. Crocker-Johnson demonstrated his scoring ability by leading the Gophers with 20 points against Wisconsin on January 13th.
In the three games since, he has averaged 20.0 points, including a standout 26-point performance in their overtime loss to Ohio State, making him a vital offensive contributor for Minnesota, especially in Tyson’s potential absence.
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Score Prediction
This is a game the Badgers cannot afford to lose. The Gophers come into Madison reeling, and a loss to them would be a Quad 3 loss on Wisconsin’s resume.
Minnesota has shown an ability to compete on the road in Big Ten play, but outside of a January 3rd win at Northwestern, the Gophers have not won another road conference game.
If the Badgers do not take the Gophers lightly, then they will come out of the Kohl Center back in the win column.
Prediction: Wisconsin 81-68
