The Wisconsin Badgers are about to enter the throws of Big 10 play as they take on the Iowa Hawkeyes tonight at 6 pm in the Kohl Center. The Badgers are looking to get their first conference win and ESPN BPI predicts that today will be that day against the Hawkeyes.
As a refresher, ESPN defines these analytics as follows: "Basketball Power Index measures a team's true strength going forward; expected point margin per 70 possessions vs an average opponent on a neutral court. BPI = BPI OFF + BPI DEF." Currently, ESPN has Wisconsin with a 13.4 BPI, while Iowa is listed at 11.9. With Wisconsin being at home the analtyics are saying that the Badgers have a 69.2% of victory. As far as analytics go and the ESPN BPI predictions, this is essentially their way of saying it'll be a sweeping victory.
The FanDuel odds are also set in Wisconsin's favor at 6.5 before game-time, with the over/under on the game being at 162.5. This essentially means that FanDuel predicts the final score of the game to be 85 to 78. This result would be a pretty good margin for a Big 10 foe.
Will it ultimately play out this way? Will Badger fans get to see the Wisconsin team that showed up and beat Arizona or the team that struggled Illinois and Marquette? The Badgers need this win to get a better footing in the conference standings, as they are already in a two-game hole with losses to Michigan and Illinois.
They will have to get this win without Italian big-man Ricardo Greppi, who sustained an injury in practice and, according to head coach Greg Gard, will need "some time" to get back on the court. It won't need surgery, but it will need plenty of rest.
Catch the game tonight on FS1 at 6 pm CST, or go live and watch the Badgers take on the Hawkeyes in person at the Kohl Center.