Busting Brackets
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Bracketology 2023: 5 games to help sort out Big Ten Basketball this week

By Jason Burgess

Jan 11, 2019; Madison, WI, USA; The Big Ten logo on the floor at the Kohl Center before the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Purdue Boilermakers. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 11, 2019; Madison, WI, USA; The Big Ten logo on the floor at the Kohl Center before the game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Purdue Boilermakers. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /
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Big Ten Basketball Penn State Nittany Lions guard Jalen Pickett David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports /

Penn State at No. 18 Wisconsin

Madison, WI, Tuesday, January 17, 8:30 PM ET, Big Ten Network

Two other teams looking to shuffle their way towards the top of the Big Ten standings will square off in Madison on Tuesday night when the Wisconsin Badgers host the Penn State Nittany Lions. The 11-5 Badgers are coming off a tough week that saw them host Michigan State and travel to Indiana, returning home with a 0-2 record in those games having lost to the Spartans and struggling offensively against the Hoosiers, only scoring 45 points.

The Badgers have a win over an Illinois team that was a bit of a mystery when Skyy Clark left a couple of weeks ago. But, right now their resume lacks the substance of a contending Big Ten team with a 5-4 record over the first two quads.

Penn State is another interesting team that can be hard to figure out. The Nittany Lions are 12-5 coming into this one after beating Indiana handily in their only game last week. Micah Shrewsbury’s team has now won six of their last eight and are lingering on the outskirts of the top of the conference with the leaders in sight.

When looking at the Nittany Lions, you need not look any further than the three-point line. If the threes are falling they become a big problem for their opponents. They make 39% of their shots and 44.3% of their point production comes from the three-pointer. If there is a team that lives and dies by the three, it’s Penn State as they rank near the bottom of the sport in the amount of point production they get from both two-pointers and the free-throw line.

With just one quad 1 win, the Nittany Lions really need to take advantage of road games like this one if they want to stay in the bubble conversation.

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