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The Lehigh Mountain Hawks take on the Wisconsin Badgers. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Lehigh Wisconsin prediction and pick.
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks are 4-4 through eight games. They opened their season with tests against ACC teams. They lost to Syracuse and Virginia Tech. Lehigh then won four consecutive games against markedly easier opponents before losing to Maryland-Eastern Shore and UMBC. Lehigh has scored at least 80 points in three of its four victories. It scored 62 points or fewer in three of its four losses. Lehigh offers the appearance of a team which is heavily dependent on the right matchup, and it needs a specific set of circumstances to thrive. The Mountain Hawks need to make adjustments to the extent that they can win more consistently when playing different styles of games. That is something they will need when they get into conference play in the Patriot League.
In Wisconsin's last several games, the Badgers have consistently played dramatic duels decided by five points or fewer. The Badgers won games decided by five points or fewer against Dayton, Kansas, USC, Wake Forest, Marquette, Maryland, and most recently, Iowa. Multiple games from that list went into overtime. Wisconsin's narrow escape against Dayton looks worse than it did at the time it happened. The loss to Wake Forest at home also looks worse. The wins over Marquette and Iowa look really good, but the win over Maryland looks worse after the Terrapins got shredded by UCLA on Wednesday night. Evaluating the quality of Wisconsin's resume is a tricky exercise. Accordingly, measuring just how good the Badgers are is an inexact science.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Lehigh-Wisconsin College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Lehigh-Wisconsin Odds
Lehigh Mountain Hawks: +22.5 (-106)
Wisconsin Badgers: -22.5 (-114)
Over: 132.5 (-110)
Under: 132.5 (-110)
Why Lehigh Could Cover the Spread
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The Wisconsin Badgers have become so accustomed to playing close games that they might not know how to pull off a blowout. That might seem like a joke, but there's a certain degree of realism and matter-of-factness attached to it. Wisconsin very definitely plays to the level of its competition. The Badgers should have been able to win at least some of their recent games by bigger margins, but they couldn't do it. Wisconsin has been very good at finishing close games and finding ways to win in the final minutes, but blowing teams out simply has not been a UW specialty. Anything but. Lehigh can certainly cover a very large spread.
Wisconsin probably won't play with the end-to-end urgency it needs over the course of 40 minutes to rack up enough points to cover the spread. Lehigh could lose by 20 and still cover? That seems like a very reasonable, very possible scenario.
Why Wisconsin Could Cover the Spread
The Badgers are going to welcome the chance to play a lower-end opponent which will enable them to roll up a big lead and play their bench a little more. Teams need some blowouts so that they can rest their starters and play the players who normally don't get that many minutes. You can be sure that coach Greg Gard will emphasize to his players the need to play a complete game instead of waiting for the last few minutes to step up. Wisconsin will finally enjoy what it is like to deliver a thumping to an opponent this season.
Lehigh is weak enough that it can be exploited by Wisconsin at both ends of the court. If this Lehigh team could lose to UMBC by 26 points, it can certainly lose to Wisconsin by the same margin.
Final Lehigh-Wisconsin Prediction & Pick
This is a game to stay away from. Wisconsin just isn't a proven team in terms of blowing out opponents, but Lehigh looks very weak and vulnerable. If you insist on making a pick here, lean to Wisconsin, but again, you should probably stay away.
Final Maryland-Wisconsin Prediction & Pick: Wisconsin -22.5
