Wisconsin at Ohio State: 2018-19 CBB game preview, TV schedule
Two Big Ten teams heading in opposite directions meet in Columbus on Sunday when Ohio State hosts Wisconsin. Which team comes away with a key win?
TV Schedule: Sunday, March 10th, 4:30 p.m. ET, Check local listings
Arena: Value City Arena in Columbus, OH
The final game of the regular season for Wisconsin and Ohio State takes place Sunday afternoon in Columbus. The Buckeyes (8-12, 8-11) are currently on a bit of a downward trend, after being upset by Northwestern in their last game and this is a vital game for their Big Dance hopes. Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6), on the other hand, has quietly been chugging along in conference play while most of the attention has been centered around the two Michigan teams and Purdue.
The home-standing Buckeyes have had a bit of an up-and-down end to their season. After falling to Maryland, they beat Iowa by 20 on the road, but then followed that up by getting dismantled by Purdue by 35 before getting beat by Northwestern. As a result, their position in the NCAA Tournament has become a little more precarious, ranging anywhere from a No. 8-11 seed. If they were to lose this game, Chris Holtmann’s team better wear double the deodorant on Selection Sunday because they’ll likely be sweating it out.
Wisconsin seems as though they have been flying under the radar a bit, as much as a fourth-place team can anyway. They split the season series with Michigan and had a lead in overtime in their only meeting with Purdue before falling 84-80. They have struggled a bit down the stretch, going just 4-3 in their last seven before this game and were 9-3 in the Big Ten before they faced Michigan and Michigan State for the second time. In terms of postseason play, the Badgers are firmly in the field at this point but could move up or down a seed line, depending on how they end the season.
Like a lot of teams this time of year it seems, the offense has been a struggle for Ohio State lately. Since beating Penn State on Feb. 7, they have averaged 58.8 points per game. In fact in conference play, Ohio State is averaging just 64 points per game. Making things worse for Ohio State is that one of the team’s two double-digit scorers, sophomore Kaleb Wesson, who averages 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game, has been suspended for a violation of team rules. He missed the Purdue game and will not play in this meeting, either.
The Badgers are once again one of the best defensive teams in the country, surrendering just 61 points per game, while they pour in 69.5 on the offensive end. The big key for Greg Gard’s Badgers this season is that they not only have the best forward in the conference in senior Ethan Happ, who is an All-American candidate (averaging 17.9 points, 10.2 rebounds, and 4.6 assists this season), but Wisconsin is healthy. Last season, the Badgers were bitten by the injury bug at every turn, and this year their eight-man rotation has missed a total of four games.
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The key matchup in this game will be whether Ohio State can generate enough offense against the Wisconsin defense to beat the Badgers. With more at stake for the Buckeyes in this game, I think this one will be close into the second half, but Wisconsin will pull away in the end and come away with a road win to end the regular season.