The set-up: I'm looking at this game, looking at each teams' records, looking at what they did in their most recent matchup against each other, looking at what they did in their last games and leading up to this moment. I'm looking at each team's schedule to see who they play next. Wisconsin is great obviously, it's 6-1 overall and 6-0 at home. Nebraska is 4-3 overall and just 2-4 against the spread on the road, but I think there are some great situational and motivational factors working in favor of the Huskers here, and while I'm not going to call for an outright upset, I do think that the stage is set for a much more competitive battle than what this spread would suggest. First off, Nebraska does play with revenge here after it lost 81-64 to Wisconsin in their last matchup back on February 15th, just before the Pandemic hit. This sets up as a look-ahead spot for Wisconsin as well, with a big nationally televised Christmas Day matchup at Michigan State. Nebraska lost to Creighton 98-74, but then it bounced back with a confidence-building 110-64 win over Doane in its most recent action.

The pick: I'm primarily a situational or motivational handicapper, the actual players on the court or on the field usually don't even factor into my decision making process when handicapping, and for me, this particular contest definitely sets up well for Nebraska. I think Wisconsin comes in complacent, I think it gets caught looking ahead to its game vs. the Spartans, and I like Nebraska here in this revenge spot and getting the points. No outright, but closer than expected.

This is a 10* UNDERDOG OF THE YEAR on Nebraska.