Wisconsin vs Ohio State: Odds, Prediction, and Best Bet for Tuesday, February 17

The Wisconsin Badgers will head east to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in a Big Ten battle on Tuesday, February 17. Both teams have bona fide superstars, as Nick Boyd and Bruce Thornton are two of the best players in the conference. Will we see plenty of thunderous dunks and wild shots from downtown in this one on FS1 at 8:30 PM Eastern?

Let’s dive into which team has the edge in each statistical category. Get our predictions and best player prop below. Best of luck, sports betting family.

Opening Odds for Wisconsin vs Ohio State

Oddsmakers are making Wisconsin a tiny favorite in this game, as the opening line priced this at a pick’em on the lookahead line on Monday afternoon. A small amount of money has come in on the Badgers so far to cause a few sportsbooks to move to Wisconsin -1.5.

The books are expecting a moderate amount of scoring in this game. The opening total was 159, but tons of Under money has changed all of that. We’re now sitting at 156.5 at some online sportsbooks. The move to the Under is a bit shocking because both of these teams rank inside the Top 60 in points scored.

Will the Badgers Keep Rolling on the Road?

Wisconsin is a solid 18-7 on the season and 10-4 in Big Ten play. The Badgers have been in pretty good form, as they’ve won four of their last five outings. Wisconsin is coming off a dominant home win over Michigan State on Friday night, so it’ll be interesting to see if they can keep that mojo rolling.

Offense is a strong point for Wisconsin, mainly thanks to their two star guards, Nick Boyd and John Blackwell. Those two combine to average 39.6 points per game, so Ohio State will have to bring its A-game on defense to slow down that dynamic duo.

The Badgers’ defense isn’t quite as strong as in years past, as they rank 144th in opponent effective field goal percentage and 124th at defending three-pointers. Nolan Winter leads the team in blocks, as he averages 1.2 per contest.

Can the Buckeyes Get a Signature Win?

Ohio State has been struggling to find consistency all year long, as they’re just 16-9 overall and 8-6 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes have some talent, but they just can’t seem to put it all together in crunch time of games. They’re 0-6 in games against Top 25 opponents, so they desperately need a signature win.

OSU has plenty of depth, as four of their players average 11.8 points per game or more. John Mobley Jr. leads the team in three-pointers, and he’s a great kick out option when teams decide to double Devin Royal down low in the paint. Mobley is averaging 15.1 points per game to give lots of help to Bruce Thorton, who leads the team in scoring (19.6 ppg).

I like how well the Buckeyes defend the 3-ball, as they rank 44th in that all-important metric. However, I’m not as crazy about how they defend the paint. Even still, Christoph Tilly and Amare Bynum are still decent big men down low.

Best Bet: Ohio State +2 (-120)

I’m buying the half-point here since two is such a key number in college hoops. Ohio State lost by 10 to Wisconsin on the road just 18 days ago, so I love that the quick revenge angle is on our side in this spot. I also don’t think Wisconsin can play a perfect game twice in a row.

These two teams are almost even from an offensive standpoint, but I have Ohio State rated quite a bit higher in my defensive power ratings. When factoring in for home court advantage and some revenge, I actually make Ohio State a small favorite tonight. Give me the plus points, and I’m sprinkling that moneyline just a little. Good luck, my friends!