The Lehigh Mountain Hawks (4-4) visit the No. 23 Wisconsin Badgers (8-2) for a Thursday night battle in Madison. Tip time at the Kohl Center is slated for 7 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Lehigh vs. Wisconsin odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Lehigh hits the hardwood for the 1st time in 12 days. The Mountain Hawks last played on Dec. 3, falling (as -2 favorites) to Maryland-Baltimore Country 88-62. Lehigh allowed a season-high 54.7% mark from the field and was also undone by 11 3-pointers.
The Badgers have won 3 in a row (straight-up and against the spread), with their most recent conquest coming Sunday as a 4-point underdog at Iowa. Wisconsin beat the Hawkeyes 78-75 in overtime, knocking down 50.8% of its field goals and getting 21 points from F Tyler Wahl.
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Lehigh at Wisconsin odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 8:33 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Lehigh +1100 (bet $100 to win $1,100) | Wisconsin -5000 (bet $5,000 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Lehigh +23.5 (-115) | Wisconsin -23.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 133.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Lehigh at Wisconsin picks and predictions
Prediction
Wisconsin 77, Lehigh 56
Moneyline
PASS. Wisconsin will win, but not worth it at this price.
Against the spread
Lehigh is just 1-3 on the road this season, but the Badgers are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
The jump in class and the layoff are issues for the Mountain Hawks. But they may be catching the Badgers at an opportune moment: Off a big, emotional win against a rival and heading into a 7-day break of its own.
In a low-scoring environment, the points offered here are significant.
TAKE LEHIGH +23.5 (-115).
Over/Under
Slow-tempo Wisconsin has played in recent games that have air-mailed the total by 20 points. And fast-paced Lehigh has played in back-to-back Unders.
UW has done well to wrest control of the pace in just about all of its games so far. A bit of 3-point shooting regression cuts against the host Badgers, and this game does not figure to offer up much in the way of superfluous transition, 2nd-chance, and free-throw looks.
The Hawks knock down triples at a nifty 38.3% clip, but Wisconsin is an accomplished perimeter-defense squad. That likely lessens that impact.
Shading this number lower is the clear lean. The UNDER 133.5 (-105) is a workable partial-unit play. Look for 135 of higher to go full freight.
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