Wisconsin vs Butler Game Information

Wisconsin vs Butler Preview

No. 20 Wisconsin (8-3) is in Indianapolis to face Butler (7-3) on Saturday afternoon in a Big Ten-Big East matchup in the Indy Classic, an annual doubleheader held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse which used to be called the Crossroads Classic. Besides this matchup, No. 11 Purdue will face No. 17 Texas A&M in a nice Big Ten-SEC Showdown (CBS, 12 EST/9 PST). The Badgers have lost 3 in a row and will likely fall out of the Top 25, losing at Illinois (86-80), at Marquette (88-74), and Michigan (67-64) in their Big Ten Conference opener after defeating Chicago State (74-53) and Pitt (81-75). The Bulldogs will come in losers of two straight, falling to North Dakota State (71-68) and Houston (79-51) after beating Eastern Illinois (73-58), Mississippi State (87-77), and Northwestern (71-69), all at Home. Both schools are longshots in the Futures market, Wisconsin is 110/1 to win the 2025 NCAA Tournament (DraftKings) with Butler now sitting at 200/1.

Wisconsin Looks to Snap 3-Game Losing Streak

No. 20 Wisconsin (5-5-1 ATS, 9-2-0 O/U) has been a solid Over team in November and early December and the Badgers played in 7 straight Overs before Chicago State slowed the pace down with them. Wisconsin started the season 8-0, defeating Holy Cross (85-61), Montana State (79-67), Appalachian State (87-56), No. 9 Arizona (103-88), RGV (87-84), UCF (86-70), Pitt (81-75), and Chicago State (74-53) before losing its last 3. The Badgers are currently averaging 81.8 ppg (#65) and allowing 72.3 ppg heading into this game. Wisconsin is led by G John Tonje (20.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg), G John Blackwell (14.7 ppg, 4.7 rpg), G Max Kiesmit (12.3 ppg), F Nolan Winter (9.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), F Steven Crowl (7.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg), and G Kamari McGee (6.5 ppg).

Wisconsin Betting Trends

• Wisconsin is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games overall
• The Badgers are 1-3 ATS in their last 4 games
• The Over is 6-2 in Wisconsin’s last 8 games
• These 2 teams have only met 1 time (March 24, 2011)
• The Badgers were 16-19-1 ATS in the 2023-24 NCAAB season (45.7%)

Butler Coming Off Embarrassing NDSU Loss

While Wisconsin has trended to the Over, Butler (5-5-0 ATS, 3-7-0 O/U) has been a big Under team this Fall. Heading into the Indy Classic—this is the first time Naptown school Butler will be playing in it—the Bulldogs average 73.2 ppg (Tied-#243) while allowing 66.1 ppg, rank No. 181 in Assists Per Game (14.3) and are tied for No. 143 in Rebounds Per Game (37.5), so nothing spectacular. Butler’s (+130 Moneyline) leading scorers are F Jahmyl Telfort (17.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg), F Pierre Brooks II (14.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), F Patrick McCaffrey (12.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg), G Finley Bizjack (6.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.8 apg), C Andre Screen (6.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg), and G Kolby King (6.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg). This team made the 2024 NIT Tournament with an At Large bid after and were bounced by Minnesota in the First Round (73-72).

Butler Betting Trends

• Butler is 7-3 SU in its last 10 games overall
• The Bulldogs are 0-3 ATS in their last 3 games
• The Under is 7-3-0 in Butler’s last 10 games
• Head Coach Thad Matta is 56-41 with Butler (2 separate stints)
• The Bulldogs were 14-18-0 ATS in the 2023-24 NCAAB season

Wisconsin vs Butler Prediction

These two programs have only met once with Butler winning 61-54 as 4.5-Point Road Underdogs in a game that went Under the low closing Total of 123 by 8 points at Wisconsin. The one thing that stands out here is the Bulldogs last game, a 71-68 loss to North Dakota State here at Home at Bainbridge Fieldhouse. Although Brooks (26 points) and Telfort (23 points) combined for 49 points, the rest of the Butler team only had 19 with the Bench only providing 6—as the hosts shot 37.1% from the Field (23-for-62) and trailed to the Bison at Halftime 44-23. This Wisconsin vs Butler NCAAB pick will keep it simple and assume the Badgers are a better team with more scoring options and if Butler again gets scoring from only 2 guys, the Big Team side has to be the look here, even with 3 straight losses heading into the Hoosier State.

.

Kevin’s Pick: Wisconsin -3.5