Wisconsin (1-0) at Xavier (2-0)
When: Tuesday, November 13th 2018
Where: Cintas Center,
Cincinnati, Ohio
Time: 6:30 ET | TV: FS1
Opening Odds: Pickem/145
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The College Basketball Selection Committee doesn’t look at just what teams do in conference play or how they are playing at the end of the season. They look at the whole body of work, which even includes games played in early November to determine the best 68 teams for the NCAA Tournament. One such game the committee is sure to be looking at come March is this Tuesday’s contest between the Wisconsin Badgers and Xavier Musketeers from Cincinnati, Ohio. Xavier is off to a sluggish 2-0 start with some brand new players under first-year coach Travis Steele and will need to get better if they want to return to March Madness for a sixth straight year. The Musketeers, who lost 66.9 percent of their scoring from last season’s 29-win team, opened the season with wins over IUPUI and Evansville, but failed to cover the spread in each. This should be a good test for the Musketeers as they prepare for a trip to Maui which starts with No. 12 Auburn and could include No. 3 Duke in the second round of the always loaded Maui Invitational. Wisconsin has one of the best players in the country in Ethan Happ, who recorded the school’s second triple-double in an opening night win over Coppin State on November 6th. The Badgers are coming off their first losing season since 1998 and failed to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997-98.
Happ is the NCAA’s first player 6’10” or taller to record a triple-double with points, rebounds and assists since Northwestern’s Evan Eschmeyer did it against Indiana in 1999. Happ had 10 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in 27 minutes in the 85-63 victory and averaged 17.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in 2017-18. He got contributions from D’Mitrik Trice (9.4 points prior to breaking his foot in December), who nailed a career-high five 3-pointers en route to a personal-best 21 points, while Brevin Pritzl (8.9 points) knocked down four 3-pointers. Wisconsin senior forward Alex Illikainen, who appeared in 85 career games, averaging 1.5 points and 1.3 rebounds, elected to leave the program.
The Xavier defense surrendered a program-high 17 made 3-pointers by Evansville and forced just nine turnovers after the Purple Aces turned it over 24 times against Illinois. Sophomore guard Paul Scruggs scored a career-high 24 points with six rebounds and five assists against Evansville while junior forward Tyrique Jones contributed 19 points and a career high 20 boards. Starting point guard Quentin Goodin, who missed the opener recovering from a shoulder injury, came off the bench and scored all of his points before halftime but was ejected early in the second half for pushing the ball into the side of a defender’s head after being called for an offensive foul. Forward Zach Hankins, who was the Division II Player of the Year last season at Ferris State, went 5-of-6 from the floor and shot 4-of-5 at the foul line for 14 points in 11 minutes against Evansville.
This should be a pretty competitive game, but I’ll give the edge to the home team here. Wisconsin has only played one game and usually starts seasons slow before heating up in the Spring. Even though Xavier coach Travis Steele is in his first season as the head man, he’s been an assistant at the school for a decade and has the coaching advantage here.
Pick: Xavier +1.5
- Badgers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Badgers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up win.
- Badgers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Badgers are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Badgers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games.
- Badgers are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Badgers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
- Badgers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games following a ATS loss.
- Badgers are 3-8-1 ATS in their last 12 non-conference games.
- Badgers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games following a straight up win of more than 20 points.
- Badgers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 Tuesday games.
- Musketeers are 14-2 ATS in their last 16 vs. Big Ten.
- Musketeers are 24-9 ATS in their last 33 games after scoring more than 90 points in their previous game.
- Musketeers are 5-2-1 ATS in their last 8 games following a ATS loss.
- Musketeers are 19-9 ATS in their last 28 Tuesday games.
- Musketeers are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games vs. a team with a winning straight up record.
- Musketeers are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight up win.
- Musketeers are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
- Musketeers are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Musketeers are 0-3-1 ATS in their last 4 non-conference games.
- Musketeers are 0-4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall.
- Under is 4-0 in Badgers last 4 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Under is 7-1 in Badgers last 8 games following a ATS loss.
- Under is 5-1 in Badgers last 6 overall.
- Under is 5-1 in Badgers last 6 Tuesday games.
- Over is 4-1 in Badgers last 5 non-conference games.
- Under is 9-4-1 in Badgers last 14 road games.
- Under is 9-4-1 in Badgers last 14 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
- Under is 9-4-1 in Badgers last 14 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600.
- Over is 4-1 in Musketeers last 5 non-conference games.
- Over is 7-2-1 in Musketeers last 10 home games.
- Over is 3-1-1 in Musketeers last 5 overall.
- Over is 3-1-1 in Musketeers last 5 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600.
- Under is 3-1-1 in Musketeers last 5 games following a straight up win.
- Under is 20-8 in Musketeers last 28 Tuesday games.
