Big Ten Rivals Meet in Evanston: Wisconsin at Northwestern

Wisconsin Badgers at Northwestern Wildcats, Welsh-Ryan Arena, Evanston, IL
Sunday, January 23, 2011, 12:30 pm Eastern, TV: Big Ten Network
Opening Line: Wisconsin -1
Current Line: Wisconsin -1 1/2
Opening Total: 133
Current Total: 132 1/2
Money Line: No Line

Jon Leuer and the Wisconsin Badgers take on the Northwestern Wildcats in Evanston in Big Ten action Sunday. The Badgers are slight road favorites.

Ironically, on the same day the Bears and Packers play in the NFC Championship for the right to go to the Super Bowl, Wisconsin travels to Northwestern, which is located in Evanston a suburb of Chicago. The game time was moved up a half hour so it ends before kickoff of the Bears-Packers game. Wisconsin is ranked #17 or 18 depending on which poll you look at. Wisconsin is 14-4 overall and 4-2 in the Big Ten. The Badgers have losses to UNLV, Notre Dame, Illinois, and michigan St on the season. All have been or are currently in the top 25. Wisconsin has wins over Boston College, North Carolina St, Marquette, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana. Wisconsin beat Indiana on Thursday night in Madison 69-60. They have won 2 in a row. Northwestern is the only major conference school that has never made the NCAA tournament. They have a good shot of breaking that streak this year, but it probably take a 9-9 or 10-8 conference record to do it. The Wildcats are 13-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten. Northwestern has losses to St. John’s Purdue, Michigan St twice, and Illinois. They have wins over Georgia Tech, Creighton, Indiana, Iowa, and Michigan. On Thursday, The Wildcats destroyed SIU-Edwardsville 98-55. Wisconsin leads the overall series against Northwestern 107-61, but Northwestern is 38-37 in Evanston. Wisconsin has won 7 of the last 8 in the series. Three of the last 4 games have gone over in the series. Northwestern is 17-5 ATS the last two seasons when the total is between 130 and 140 points. They are also 19-9 ATS in the same span versus teams with winning records.

Wisconsin has no significant injuries. The Badgers are led by forward Jon Leuer. He averages 19.2 points to lead the team, 7.2 rebounds which also leads the team, 2 assists and 1.4 blocks a game. Guard Jordan Taylor averages 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists to lead the team. Forward Keaton Nankivil averages 9.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, and he leads the team in blocks with 1.6 a game. Wisconsin is outscoring opponents 70-57 on the season. Wisconsin shoots 44.3% from the field and 37.1% for 3-point range. Badger opponents are shooting 39.9% from the field. The Badgers are excellent at shooting free throws converting 82% from the line. Wisconsin averages 33.3 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +3.5. Wisconsin averages 14 assists and 8.1 turnovers a game. The Badgers force 10.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Badgers average 3.8 steals and 4,2 blocks a game.

Northwestern’s leading scorer John Shurna missed the Wildcat’s last game as a precautionary measure for some lingering effects of a high ankle sprain suffered last month. The Wildcats didn’t need him as they crushed lowly SIU-Edwardsville. Shurna is expected to play against Wisconsin, but obviously keep an eye on the situation. Shurna averages 19.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.5 steals a game. He is shooting 54.8% from 3-point range. The Wildcats are a very good 3-point shooting team as 11 players on their roster are shooting at least 33% from beyond the arc. Guard Michael Thompson averages 14.3 points, 1.9 rebounds, 4.6 assists to lead the team, and 1.7 steals a game to also lead the team. Guard/forward Drew Crawford averages 13.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2 assists a game. Center Luka Mirkovic averages 8.9 points, 6.2 rebounds to lead the team, and 2.2 assists a game. Northwestern is outscoring opponents 78-67 on the season. They are shooting 47.6% from the field and 40.2% from 3 point range. Northwestern opponents are shooting 45.4% from the field. Northwestern makes 70.3 of their free throws. The Wildcats average 31.8 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of -1.8. Northwestern averages 18.3 assists and 10.9 turnovers a game. They force 14.8 turnovers a game on defense. The Wildcats average 7.9 steals and 3.4 blocks a game.

Both these teams are very disciplined and don’t turn the ball over much. Northwestern sometimes struggles on defense, and sometimes Wisconsin struggles to score. Neither team rebounds well, but Northwestern is even worse. Both are good at shooting free throws. It should be a close game between two rivals that need a win badly.