Basketball Pick and Tips: Wisconsin Badgers vs Penn St. Nittany Lions
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
by Joe Rodriguez
No. 25 Wisconsin Badgers takes aim at its sixth consecutive victory Tuesday night when it travels eastward to face a slumping Penn State club.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have lost five of six, including a 78-54 drubbing at Ohio State last Wednesday, to fall into last place in the Big Ten.
The Badgers, meanwhile, stayed one game behind league leader Ohio State after a 57-50 home win against then-No. 17 Indiana on Thursday.
- Wisconsin Badgers @ Penn State Nittany Lions
When: 8:00 PM ET, Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Where: Bryce Jordan Center, University Park, Pennsylvania
TV: 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network
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Justbet Sportsbook currently have the Badgers listed as 9-point favorites versus the Nittany Lions.
Wisconsin Badgers (17-5): The Badgers remain one of the most effective defensive teams in the country, leading Division I in points allowed (49.6) and field-goal percentage defense (36.3). Their offense, however, has not been as productive as in years past. Part of that is due to a tempo that creates fewer possessions per game (59.7), but Wisconsin shoots just 43.4 percent from the floor (10th in the Big Ten) and its free-throw percentage (71.2) has dropped substantially from last year's NCAA-best figure of 81.8 percent.
Penn State Nittany Lions (10-12): Wisconsin's defense should spell trouble for the Nittany Lions, who are already one of the coldest shooting teams in the country. Penn State is a distant last in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (38.3, 332nd in NCAA) and 3-point shooting (30.8 percent). The team has reached the 60-point mark just three times in nine conference games, scoring more than 66 just once (an 88-82 home loss to Indiana). Junior PG Tim Frazier has been the lone bright spot, leading the team in scoring (17.9), rebounding (4.9), assists (a Big Ten-best 6.3) and steals (2.2).
1. Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 26-10, but the Nittany Lions won two of three meetings last year, including an ugly 36-33 victory in the Big Ten Tournament.
2. The Badgers are 10-7 in State College, with six consecutive wins there before last season's 56-52 setback.
3. Wisconsin and Penn State will face each other again on Feb. 19 in Madison, where the Nittany Lions are just 2-15 all-time with 14 consecutive losses going back to 1995.
BASKETBALL PREDICTION: Badgers 62, Nittany Lions 48.
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bryce jordan center - penn state nittany lions - tim frazier - wisconsin badgers