BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP
WISCONSIN vs. MICHIGAN (WIS -3.5, 149.5)
WISCONSIN -3.5
Both of these teams will make the NCAA tournament no matter what happens today. The latest bracketology projections have the Badgers as a No. 3 seed and the Wolverines as a No. 4. It's just a matter of which team will be the automatic bid from the Big Ten. I think that will be Wisconsin.
The Badgers have won their three straight Big Ten tournament games in convincing fashion. That includes yesterday's impressive defeat of Michigan State, 77-74. John Tonje had 32 points to lead the Badgers.
If you go back to the beginning of the Big Ten schedule, Michigan traveled to Wisconsin in December and handed the Badgers their very first loss of the season, 67-64. Tonje had 18 points in that game and Michigan's pair of 7-footers, Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, combined for 44 and 12 rebounds.
Fast-forward to today and I think the difference comes down to this. Michigan has issues with turnovers. The Wolverines rank 334th in the nation in turnover percentage. Wisconsin is tied for 18th. The Badgers are also the No. 1 free throw shooting team (83.1%) in the nation. Michigan ranks outside the top 150 in the same category. Both of these will make a difference today in tight championship game where the Badgers would love to get some payback.
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