The James Madison Dukes will take on the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes come into the game as the 12th seed in the South Region. The Badgers are the 5th seed. The winner of this game will take on the winner of Duke and Vermont on Sunday in the second round. This game will be played at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Dukes are 31-3 on the season. James Madison has won 13 straight games. The Dukes won the Sun Belt, and then beat Arkansas State in the conference tournament on Monday.
For Wisconsin, the Badgers were the fifth seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin upset Purdue, and then went to the title game. In that game, the Badgers fell to Illinois. Wisconsin is 22-13 on the season. The Badgers are 5-5 in their last 10 games.
The Wisconsin Badgers are -5.5 over James Madison in this game.
Red Hot James Madison Dukes
The last time the James Madison Dukes lost was the last game of January at Appalachian State. The Dukes have been red hot, scoring 73+ points in each game. During the month of March, the Dukes are scoring 83 points per game.
The top scorer for James Madison has been Terrence Edwards. He is scoring more than 17 points per game. Next for the Dukes has been TJ Bickerstaff, with 13.4 points per game. Third on the Dukes is Noah Freidel, at 12.1 points per game.
This is the first time James Madison has been in the NCAA Tournament since 2013. That season, the Dukes won in the first four over Long Island. They then fell in the second round to the top seeded Indiana Hoosiers. The Dukes are 4-5 in the NCAA Tournament.
Greg Gard’s Wisconsin Badgers
The month of February was not pretty for the Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers lost their first four games of the month, and finished with two wins in eight games. The lone wins were over Ohio State and Maryland. March has been better for the Badgers, with four wins in 7 games. Their three losses were to Purdue, and Illinois twice.
AJ Storr, Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl are the leading scorers for the Badgers. Storr leads the attack with 16.9 points per game. Crowl is second, at just over 11 per game, while Wahl is at 10.8 per game. In the Big Ten Tournament, Storr finished with 90 points over the four games.
The Wisconsin Badgers did not reach the NCAA Tournament last season. In 2021, the Badgers lost in the second round to Baylor, and in 2022, they fell to 11th seeded Iowa State. Wisconsin’s last first round loss was in 2019 against the Oregon Ducks.
Dukes Upset Badgers
The James Madison Dukes are going to win this game. The Dukes are talented and can score the basketball. The Dukes are also good enough to slow down Wisconsin on the offensive side. James Madison is going to win their 31st game of the season here and pull off an upset.
Not only are we going to bet the Dukes to cover the spread, but also take them on the moneyline. Bet the James Madison Dukes +180 over the Wisconsin Badgers on Friday!
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