Louisville Cardinals vs. Wisconsin Badgers Betting Picks

The 4-0 Louisville Cardinals will go on the road Saturday afternoon to face off with the 5-1 Wisconsin Badgers at 12:00 PM ET in the Kohl Center. You can catch the ACC vs. Big Ten challenge on ESPN2. These two squads play at a very similar pace and it’ll be interesting to see who will prevail. Let’s dive into how this one will go down and who will end up covering the spread. Make sure to check out the rest of my CBB Picks for the upcoming weekend slate of games.

The Cardinals have been solid through their first four games, with their only close game coming in a one-point victory over Seton Hall. The offense is led by senior PG Carlik Jones, who carries the offense with 17.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game. Jones has been a do-it-all guy for three years now and is one of the more trustworthy guards to perform night in and night out. 

Freshman Dre Davis (12.5 pts, 4.0 reb) is 6’5 and listed as a center. I don’t love it, but maybe they’re expecting a big growth spurt. In all reality, he’s a physical four and he’s down a good job early of making an impact. David Johnson, Jae’Lyn Withers, and Samuell Williamson all follow with 10+ PPG and all have the ability to break out on any given night. Expect the ball to be in Jones hands a ton. He does it all for this offense and will be asked to put up 20+ to match the talent on the other side on the perimeter. 

The 12th-ranked Badgers sole loss this season came to Marquette in a game that was close from start to finish. They’ve easily taken care of the rest of their opponents and will be looking to prove they can beat the quality competition in this one. The Badgers aren’t led by any one guy, but four different players average between 10 and 13 points. They also play very solid defense and don’t give an inch anywhere.

Down low, it’s seniors Micah Potter and Nate Reuvers. Potter is the far better defender and rebounder, but both can fill it up offensively. On the perimeter, D’Mitrik Trice and Brad Davidson are as solid as they come. They’ve shot just 40% from the field to start the season and positive regression is guaranteed to be on the near horizon. The Badgers play faster than Louisville and they have the better offense when the guards put up the 15+ they’re capable of. 

The Louisville Cardinals are the better team in my book here. Carlik Jones will be the best player on the floor and I’m not sure the role players are inferior to those on Wisconsin. Sure, they’re younger, but they’ve already proven to be legitimate and there’s a recipe out there to beat this Wisconsin team. The big men are talented, but they can be taken advantage of by playing with some physicality. Give me the points with the road team here as I expect Louisville to keep it close in what I see as a toss-up. 

Both of these teams like to push the pace and neither offense has been as efficient as they’re capable of. I expect this to be a back and forth affair that sees a ton of points in both halves. While both teams play solid defense, this is a tough matchup for both and the offenses will have success. With that being said, this is a sharp number and I would rather bet Louisville against the spread.