No.24 Wisconsin (14-3, 4-2 Big Ten) vs. USC (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten)

Date/Time – Sunday, January 18, 2 p.m.

Arena – Kohl Center (10,258)

Watch – Big Ten Network (Guy Haberman and Don MacLean)

Radio – Badgers Radio Network (Matt Lepay and Brian Butch), Sirius 106 or 195, stream online on iHeartRadio.

Series – Series Tied 2-2 (USC leads 2-0 in Los Angeles)

Last Meeting - Wisconsin won, 64-59, on November 25, 2022, in Paradise Island, Bahamas

Follow Online: The Badgers' Den

Twitter: @Badger_Blitz

Betting line: Wisconsin -1.5

Player to Watch: Ranking sixth in the Big Ten in scoring, Tonje has scored in double figures in 16 of 17 games this season and 15+ points 10 times.

Player to watch: Named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after averaging 16.5 points (63.2 percent shooting), 5.0 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game in games at Illinois and Indiana, Yates had 21 points (8-for-11 shooting, 4-5 3FG) and four assists in Tuesday’s win over Iowa.

This will be Wisconsin’s first conference game against the Trojans and the only regular-season meeting between the programs.

USC has won both meetings in Los Angeles by winning 36-31 in December 1948 and 86-76 in December 1982. The latter meeting was part of the Winston Tire Classic that also featured Alabama and Georgetown.

Current Badgers Crowl, Gilmore, Markus Ilver, and Max Klesmit played against the Trojans in the last meeting in 2022. John Tonje played USC during the 2022-23 season as a member of Colorado State, scoring 6 points and 3 rebounds in 36 minutes.

The Badgers have played 17 games in LA, going 9-8 overall. Wisconsin advanced to both the 2014 and 2015 Final Fours out of the West Regional in the Los Angeles area. In 2014, UW went to Anaheim and knocked off Baylor in the Sweet 16 and Arizona in the Elite Eight. In 2015, the Badgers dropped North Carolina and Arizona at the Staples Center in LA.

The Badgers rank No. 24 as of Jan. 16's NCAA NET rankings. The Badgers are 7-3 against the top two quadrants of the NET rankings, including a pair of Quad 1 wins and zero losses outside of the first quadrant.

Wisconsin ranks 12th in the nation in offensive efficiency per KenPom. UW's mark of 120.9 would rank as the school's 4th-highest mark in the KenPom era (1997).

The Badgers have three of the Big Ten's top 12 FT shooters in Tonje (2nd, 93.6%), Klesmit (12th, 85.1%), and Blackwell (15th, 82.1%). Each of UW's top seven scorers are shooting 80%+ at the line.

Since last season, Wisconsin is 26-1 in games when holding foes to 70 or fewer points (9-1 this year).

With a 1.47 assist-to-turnover ratio, the Badgers are enjoying their third-best A-to-TO ratio in a season, trailing only the 2014-15 team (1.70) and the 2010-11 team (1.71).

Tied for the leading scorer in Big Ten play with 22 points per game, Claude scored 25 points against Iowa and either scored or assisted on 48 of the Trojans’ 99 points.

USC is undefeated this season when scoring 75 or more points, boasting an 11-0 record when that happens.

Ranked 67th in adjusted offensive efficiency, USC shot 64.9 percent from the field and made 66.7 percent of their three-point attempts against Iowa. The Trojans currently rank 39th nationally with a 48.4 percent shooting percentage.

USC tallied a season-best 27 assists and forced a season-high 21 turnovers against Iowa.

The cupboard was bare when Eric Musselman took on the challenge following a successful five-year stint with Arkansas. Pre-portal era, having only two returning players would have been problematic. In today’s era, early playing time in southern California sold itself.

Musselman added 11 players to his roster, mixing in young with graduate veterans and has started to see things mesh.

Claude (Xavier) leads the team in points and assists, Agbo (Boise State) is shooting 39.2 percent from the perimeter, while Thomas (Northern Colorado) is making an impact scoring, rebounding, and facilitating in his first collegiate season.

“He can do so many things,” Musselman said of Thomas. “He is one of those guys you can put all over. That is what we want our team to be like. He is a triple-double threat.”

The Trojans have also been boosted by the evolution of Yates, who stretches the floor with the ability to handle the ball, play aggressively, and defending. With a road win over No.13 Illinois and this week’s 99-point shooting against Iowa, it’s easy to see USC’s confidence is growing.

"We have really expanded our playbook a lot,” Musselman said. “The guys will tell you we have a new play every game. We have kept all of our new plays. However, many games we have played, that's how many new plays we have added. We are also running harder. We watched the film, and they were jogging. Once the players were able to see that on film, we are now running way harder than we were before."

The one issue for USC has been its defense, Since the restart of Big Ten play, the Trojans have given up 85 to Michigan, 82 at Indiana, 72 at Illinois, and 89 against Iowa. The Trojans not playing a challenging nonconference schedule (293rd nonconference strength of schedule) has likely contributed to those issues.

UW has beaten the three least defensive efficient teams on its current six-game winning streak, all ranked 99th or higher. The Trojans are fourth worst in the conference at No.75. USC ranks 13th in field goal percentage defense and 12th in three-point percentage defense.

I see this game as a coin flip for Wisconsin. However, the Badgers’ offense had a clunky performance in their win over Ohio State. UW is too efficient to have two of them consecutively.

Worgull’s Prediction: Wisconsin by 6

Record: 14-3 (12-5 ATS)

Points off Prediction: 140 (8.2 per game)

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