The Wisconsin Badgers take on their first game and hopefully not their last game of the NCAA Tournament against the High Point Panthers. It's a No. 5 vs. No. 12 seed, and the Panthers have become a sexy pick for an upset over Wisconsin. Yet, Wisconsin also has many pundits who have them going deep, so it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. This game will break many brackets one way or another.
Final Odds and Over/Under for Wisconsin Badgers vs. High Point Panthers
The opening odds for this game were around 12.5 in favor of Wisconsin. However, with enough money coming in on High Point to pull off the upset, the line has moved to a final line of 10.5 according to FanDuel. It's still a decent spread and favors the Badgers, but it's closer than it was.
The over/under is set at a blistering 162.5. That's one of the highest over/unders for the day of tournament games. Yet with both offenses averaging nearly 90 points a game, it makes sense.
Vegas actually gives you a score prediction if you combine those two numbers together. The betting prediction of the final score is Wisconsin 87 and High Point 76 (if you round to the whole numbers).
Final bold prediction for Wisconsin vs. High Point
While Vegas and many bettors are out there putting money on High Point, and even discounting the Badgers. I don't think the game is close in the end. Wisconsin wins this game by 20 and cruises into an anticipated matchup with Arkansas.
High Point simply hasn't played anyone this season, and it's hard to see a big win from the Panthers against their first quad-1 opponent. They've lost the only quad-2 games they've seen. Their offensive numbers are also inflated.
Final score: Wisconsin 87, High Point 64