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This time each year, various sportsbooks begin to roll out exotic futures tied to college basketball. The Gaming Juice’s junior circuit junkie, Brad Evans, will occasionally unearth bets he believes present excellent value.
The picks — Wisconsin to win the Big Ten (+950, BetMGM), Wisconsin to make the Final Four (+1100, BetMGM)
Spotted Cow, Sargento, Green Bay Packers and, right now, Wisconsin Badgers basketball.
A late-winter polar vortex may currently have a vise-grip around the upper Midwest, but the Madmen from Madison are running hot in America’s Dairyland. After waltzing into legendary Mackey Arena and upending Purdue, Greg Gard’s Badgers are not only flirting with a No. 2 projected seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament, but they’re also pushing Big Ten brass for the rights to a regular season championship.
Despite trailing first-place Michigan by two losses, John Tonje and company have a fortuitous late-season schedule to keep them in the hunt for a league title. Many publications and insiders who made preseason predictions of the Badgers finishing middle-of-the-pack never saw this coming. All the props to Gard.
[ Bracket Big Board: Brad Evans' latest NCAA Tournament projections ]
Wisconsin has undergone a complete identity shift. Once known for its shot-clock-sucking, half-court sluggishness, which resulted in many games played in the 50s and 60s, Gard upgraded the old clunker for a sexy European racer. The change has ushered in unprecedented production. This season, the Badgers are averaging 81.5 points per game — their highest mark in over a half century.
Featuring more ball screens and other modernized innovations, the schematic alterations have revolutionized Badgers basketball. Wisconsin is No. 6 nationally in offensive efficiency, netting an almost unfathomable 1.255 points per possession. Most uncharacteristically, it ranks No. 184 in adjusted tempo, the program’s highest category output since the 2005-06 campaign.
These breakout Badgers may lack depth, but their experience and cohesiveness make them a well-oiled machine on both ends. According to BartTorvik, Bucky is No. 5 overall in games played over the last 30 days. Wisconsin is peaking — and at the most opportune time.
The betting markets remain somewhat asleep at the wheel on Wisco. On BetMGM, the Red and White are a very attractive +950 to win the Big Ten and +1100 to make the Final Four. Both futures are entirely in play.
Speaking to the former market, the Badgers are more than a dark horse. Four of their last six conference games are at the Kohl Center with winnable matchups against Illinois, Oregon, Washington and Penn State. Yes, road trips to East Lansing and Minneapolis are significant challenges, but it’s no stretch to think they could enter the Big Ten Tournament as the top overall seed.
As for its Big Dance prospects, Wisconsin is terrifically built for emerging unscathed in sweaty March games. It commits few turnovers, blasts the glass and is No. 1 in the nation in free-throw percentage (83.7%). Equally important, Max Klesmit, John Blackwell and Kamari McGee make up a savvy backcourt. That trio — paired with bucket-getter Tonje, interior enforcer Steven Crowl and versatile stretch four Nolan Winter — suggests the Badgers have the personnel to wreck brackets.
Gamers, it’s long overdue to jump “On, Wisconsin!”