The Daily basketball beat predicts Michigan-Wisconsin

After upsetting Iowa on the road, Michigan heads to Madison to take on No. 15 Wisconsin, where the Wolverines will have a chance to pick up their second consecutive Quadrant 1 road win. Entering the weekend slate of games each week, The Daily’s basketball beat will predict the outcome of games across college basketball, tallying their records across the season. Here are their predictions:

Records:

Last Week, as a beat, we went 19-21 — our first negative week of the season. Jack led the way after being shamed a week ago, and Nick was the only one to pick last week’s Michigan game correctly. Spencer only got one Big Ten pick right but ran the table on the Flavor of the Week picks, while Josh was the only one to correctly pick National Championship Contender Rutgers and leads the way after three weeks. Entering our fourth week of predictions, here’s how we stand:

Last Week:

Cumulative:

Michigan at No. 15 Wisconsin

Sunday Feb. 20 1:00 pm Michigan at No. 15 Wisconsin

Jack: Wisconsin

I don’t think any possible outcome of this game would surprise me with how volatile Michigan has been as of late, but I think Wisconsin wins for two reasons. First, Michigan hasn’t strung together consecutive good performances against quality teams yet this year, let alone on the road, and I don’t think that changes on Sunday. Second, and more importantly, I don’t think Michigan has an answer for Johnny Davis and Wisconsin’s ball screen offense. Unless Davis struggles, I think Michigan comes up short.

Josh: Wisconsin

This game is very much a toss-up, and when in doubt, I just think about the inconsistencies that have plagued Michigan all season. The Wolverines have been unable to string together quality wins and while they are coming off an impressive victory at Iowa, it remains to be seen if they can build on it. I think it’s a close game throughout but ultimately the bounces don’t go Michigan’s way and the Badgers take it at the end, riding a big performance from Davis.

Nick: Michigan

I’ve learned two hard and fast rules this season: Don’t trust Michigan to play two good games in a row and never rely on a Wisconsin pick. One of those has to go this week. Since I haven’t picked wrong on a Michigan game yet, I trusted my gut on this one and went with the Wolverines. I think Michigan’s strategy against Davis and the Badgers will be the same as it was against Keegan Murray and Iowa, E.J. Liddell and Ohio State and Jaden Ivey and Purdue — make the best guy on the court make plays and play advantages elsewhere. I think Wisconsin is actually a weaker team than all three of the others mentioned, and the Wolverines get it done on the road.

Spencer: Michigan

There’s no telling how Michigan is going to play on Sunday. The thing is, it almost doesn’t matter with Wisconsin. The Badgers play with such tight margins that this game will probably be close regardless of how the Wolverines shoot. I think if Michigan can contain Davis and force him to get his points on low efficiency numbers as it did with Iowa’s Keegan Murray, then the Wolverines will win. But, that is one big ‘if’.