Montana Grizzlies vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, 3/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Montana Grizzlies vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025

Location: Ball Arena in Denver, CO

TV: TNT

Odds/Point Spread: Montana (+17)

Ball Arena is where the Wisconsin Badgers (26-9) will take on the Montana Grizzlies (25-9) on Thursday in the 1st round of the NCAA Tournament. Wisconsin is 17-point favorites. The over/under comes in at 152.

The Montana Grizzlies stepped onto the hardwood against Northern Colorado and notched a win by a score of 91-83 in their last game. In regard to personal fouls, the Grizzlies finished with 19 while Northern Colorado had 21 personal fouls. They converted 6 of 14 attempts from beyond the perimeter. Northern Colorado finished the game at 85.0% at the free throw line by knocking down 17 of 20 attempts. Additionally, Northern Colorado collected 14 boards (2 offensive, 12 defensive), but didn't have a block. Northern Colorado dished out 10 dimes and had 4 steals in the matchup. In reference to defense, Montana allowed the other team to shoot 58.8% from the floor on 30 of 51 shooting. They also doled out 8 assists in this game as well as forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and earning 4 steals. Concerning rebounding, they earned 22 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. When they shot from the free throw line, the Grizzlies buried 24 of 28 attempts for a percentage of 85.7%. Montana finished the game with a 65.2% field goal percentage (30 of 46) and made 7 out of their 11 shots from downtown.

Kai Johnson is a guy who played a role for this game. He ended up shooting 70.0% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He played for 32 mins played and collected 3 rebounds. He recorded 23 points on 7 out of 10 shooting.

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Montana enters this contest with a record of 25-9 so far this season. They lose possession by turning the ball over 10.9 times per game and as a unit they commit 16.1 fouls per game. As a unit, Montana is pulling in 31.7 boards per game and has totaled 461 assists for the year, which is 132nd in college in terms of passing the rock. The Grizzlies are shooting 36.0% on 3-point shots (249 of 692) and 73.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 76.9 points per outing (95th in D-1) while shooting 50.2% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Grizzlies are able to force 10.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.6 personal fouls. They rank 158th in Division 1 in allowing assists with 421 surrendered so far this year. The Grizzlies defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 45.5% (905 of 1,991) and they surrender 32.5 rebounds per contest as a team. They are conceding 32.8% from beyond the arc and they are 211th in Division 1 in points per game allowed (72.9).

For their last game, the Wisconsin Badgers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 59-53 when they faced Michigan. The Badgers collected 29 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 41 in this game. They coughed up the ball 6 times, while recording 3 steals in this game. Michigan earned 16 personal fouls for the matchup which took the Badgers to the charity stripe for a total of 18 attempts. They were able to make 16 of the free throws for a percentage of 88.9%. In relation to three-point attempts, Wisconsin buried 7 of their 39 tries (17.9%). In all, the Badgers finished 15 out of 68 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 22.1%. The Badgers permitted Michigan to convert 19 of 59 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 32.2% in the matchup. They went 27.3% from three-point range by going 9 of 33 and ended up shooting 12 of 13 at the free throw line (92.3%). With respect to cleaning up the glass, Wisconsin permitted Michigan to collect 37 overall (5 offensive).

John Blackwell ended up being a factor for the Badgers in the game. He recorded 18 points in his 36 mins on the court, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He buried 6 of 17 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 35.3%, and accounted for 5 rebounds.

Wisconsin has a record of 26-9 on the year. The Badgers commit 16.7 fouls per game and they connect on 82.8% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 14.6 times per contest (104th in the country) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.7 times per contest. Wisconsin has tallied 2,790 pts for the season (79.7 per contest) and they average 36.5 boards per game. As an offense, the Badgers are connecting on 45.2% from the field, which is 150th in the country.

The Wisconsin defense surrenders 33.0% from downtown (274 of 830) and their opponents are converting on 72.3% of their foul shots. They have conceded 12.4 dimes and 34.0 boards per game, which is ranked 115th and 159th in the nation. The Badgers are ranked 132nd in college hoops in points given up per game with 70.4. They are able to force 10.0 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 41.4% from the floor (56th in the nation).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Montana (+17)

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