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Wisconsin Eyes Bounce Back

Badgers Face Nicholls After Loss to Ohio State

The Nicholls Colonels go for a fourth straight win when they visit the Wisconsin Badgers in a non-conference contest on Wednesday night. The opening tip for the game is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.

The Colonels (7-3) are coming off an 87-69 rout of the visiting Blue Mountain College Toppers on Monday, their fourth home win in as many games. Nicholls is 2-2 on the road this season, winning at Mississippi Valley State on Thursday in their last true road game.

Badgers Look To Bounce Back vs Colonels
David Becker/Getty Images/AFP

Wisconsin (8-2) had a six-game winning streak snapped with a 73-55 loss at No. 21 Ohio State on Saturday. The Badgers are 4-1 at the Kohl Center, including a rally from 22 down to defeat the Indiana Hoosiers on Dec. 8.

If you want to bet online on this contest, the college basketball lines have the Badgers as 19-point favorites, with the over/under for the game set at 134½ points.

Wisconsin Badgers vs Nicholls Colonels

Road Warriors

While the Colonels are only 2-2 on the road, they’ve been competitive for the most part. One of those losses was to the top-ranked team in college basketball, the Baylor Bears, on Nov. 15, which was followed by a 13-point loss against the host TCU Horned Frogs on Nov. 18.

Nicholls has shown the ability to score, averaging 80.0 points. That will be tested against the hard-nosed Wisconsin defense, but the Colonels were able to get 60 on the Bears so they have some experience against tough defensive teams.

Senior guard Ty Gordon leads the way for the Colonels, averaging 19.1 points and 3.2 assists. Gordon is shooting 37.8 percent from 3-point range, though he struggles at the charity stripe, making just 42.1 percent of his free-throw attempts.

Senior backcourt mate Devante Carter is the other double-digit scorer for the Colonels at 10.7 points per game. He’s coming off a six-point effort against Blue Mountain College, snapping a four-game streak of double-digit scoring games.

Rough Loss

The Badgers were rolling with a six-game winning streak and took an eight-point lead on the road against the nationally ranked Buckeyes on Saturday. But then the bottom dropped out as Ohio State rolled to the easy win, handing Wisconsin its first Big Ten loss.

“I thought we got a little out of sync in the middle part of the first half,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said after the loss. “They got rolling a little bit, and we were never able to get back into a rhythm offensively like we had been in.”

Wisconsin had the top-ranked defense in the Big Ten entering the contest, allowing just 59.1 points per game, but Ohio State became the second team this season to break the 70-point barrier against the Badgers.

Sophomore guard Johnny Davis has been the best scorer for the Badgers, averaging 20.9 points . He’s also leading the team with 6.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.

Senior guard Brad Davison continues to be a thorn in opponents’ sides, averaging 14.8 points per game and playing physical on both ends of the floor. Davison has a team-high 25 three-pointers and is shooting 34.7 percent from 3-point range.

Badgers Roll

Nicholls has shown some fight on the road, but the Badgers need a bounce-back win after a bad loss at Ohio State. Look for the Badgers’ defense to make life difficult for the Colonels in an easy win for the home team.

When doing your college basketball betting, take Wisconsin to win and cover at home.

Pick: Wisconsin Badgers -19

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