Colgate vs. Wisconsin Bracket Prediction: March Madness Odds
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Jeremy Perry
The Colgate Raiders were the clear class of the Patriot League this season. They won the regular-season conference championship and then the conference tournament. The Wisconsin Badgers shared the Big Ten regular-season championship with Illinois, but then their season took a bad turn. Teams going in opposite directions create a highly compelling 3-versus-14 NCAA Tournament game which could get a little spicy.
Colgate Raiders vs. Wisconsin Badgers NCAA Tournament Point Spread and Betting
The Colgate Raiders lost only two games in their conference all season long. The Wisconsin Badgers won the Big Ten regular-season championship, splitting the title with Illinois. Wisconsin is a good team but also a confusing one. The Badgers were an outright underdog on March 1, and they beat Purdue straight up. Wisconsin was an outright favorite against Nebraska on March 6 but lost the game at home. Wisconsin was an outright favorite in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals against Michigan State on March 11 but lose the game. There are numerous examples this season in which Wisconsin has lost straight up as a point-spread favorite, and many other examples in which the Badgers have won straight up as a point-spread underdog. They often zig when the betting line zags.
Colgate Raiders (14)
The Patriot League champions roared through their conference tournament, posting three convincing victories and never being remotely threatened in any of them. The Raiders won their games by 28, 20, and 16 points. They made Bucknell, Lehigh and Navy look pedestrian. Colgate averaged over 80 points in those three games and met with very little defensive resistance. Colgate spreads the floor and has lots of capable shooters. The precision and flow of this team’s offense is hard for opponents to guard, especially if they are not familiar with the Raiders. Colgate will want to play this game in the 80s or the high 70s, while Wisconsin would like to play this game in the 60s. Colgate has not lost a game since January 28. The team went undefeated in February and only got better as the season went along. That’s a powerful form of confidence heading into an NCAA Tournament game.
Wisconsin Badgers (3)
The Badgers enter this game with a two-game losing streak. The Badgers had a nine-point lead against Nebraska, 71-62, with just under six minutes left in regulation on March 6. Wisconsin scored only two points in the remainder of the game and lost 74-73. That loss cost the Badgers the outright Big Ten title. Illinois beat Iowa later that day to split the conference championship with Wisconsin.
The Badgers then headed to the Big Ten Tournament and played Michigan State in the quarterfinals. Wisconsin had a lot to prove after the shocking Nebraska loss, but the Badgers could not get enough defensive stops down the stretch and lost to the Spartans. Wisconsin surged in the month of February but then lost steam in the first week and a half of March. What helps the Badgers here is that the game against Colgate is in Milwaukee, but there are enough uncertainties about this game to think that Colgate can cover the spread.
COLG
WIS