The 14th-seeded Montana Grizzlies will take on the third-seeded Wisconsin Badgers in an East Regional first-round matchup in the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday afternoon. Montana defeated Northern Colorado 91-83 to win the Big Sky Conference Tournament, while Wisconsin fell 59-53 to Michigan in the Big Ten Conference Tournament championship. The Grizzlies (25-9), who are making their 13th NCAA Tournament appearance, are looking to win their first tournament game since 2006. The Badgers (26-9), who are making their 28th tournament appearance, posted their fourth consecutive 20-win season and have won at least 20 games 20 times since 2000.
Tipoff from Ball Arena in Denver is set for 1:30 p.m. ET. This will be the fourth meeting between the teams, with Wisconsin posting a 73-49 win in their last meeting in 2012. Wisconsin is a 16.5-point favorite in the latest Montana vs. Wisconsin odds from the SportsLine Consensus, while the over/under for total points scored is 152. Before making any Wisconsin vs. Montana picks, be sure to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.
The model simulates every Division 1 college basketball game 10,000 times. It enters the 2025 NCAA Tournament on a 228-166 roll (+2025) on all top-rated college basketball picks dating back to 2023. This model has also produced brackets that have beaten over 91% of CBS Sports entries in four of the last six tournaments and nailed 24 first-round upsets by double-digit seeds. Anyone following could have seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Montana vs. Wisconsin and just locked in its March Madness predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Here are the college basketball odds and lines for Wisconsin vs. Montana:
- Wisconsin vs. Montana spread: Wisconsin -16.5
- Wisconsin vs. Montana over/under: 152 points
- Wisconsin vs. Montana money line: Wisconsin -1818, Montana +962
- MON: Grizzlies have hit the money line in 23 of their last 33 games (+14.00 units)
- WIS: Badgers have covered the spread in 21 of their last 36 games (+4.55 units)
- Wisconsin vs. Montana picks: See picks at SportsLine
Why Wisconsin can cover
Sixth-year senior guard John Tonje is the fourth Wisconsin player this century to average 19 or more points per game, and first since Johnny Davis in 2021-22. He earned first-team All-Big Ten honors, and ranks fifth in the league at 19.2 points per game. Tonje has registered five 30-plus games, and is averaging 23.2 points per game against ranked opponents. That is the most of any Division I player to face at least three ranked foes. He is shooting 90.8% from the free throw line, and is on pace to set Wisconsin's single-season free-throw percentage record.
Also helping power the Badgers is sophomore guard John Blackwell. He has started all 35 games this season and is averaging 15.5 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 30.9 minutes. In Sunday's loss to Michigan in the Big Ten title game, he finished with 18 points and five rebounds. He had 18 points, five rebounds and four assists in an 86-70 win over UCLA in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Friday. See which team to pick here.
Why Montana can cover
The Grizzlies have been on a roll, winning 14 of the past 15 games. Helping fuel the offense is sophomore Money Williams, who leads the Grizzlies in both points per game (13.3) and assists per game (3.1). He has come off the bench in the team's last 14 games after starting the first 20. He has been on fire of late, averaging 19 points per game in March. He was named the Big Sky's top reserve and was an All-Big Sky second team selection.
Junior guard Malik Moore is coming off a 15-point and three-rebound performance in the Big Sky championship game win over Northern Colorado. He scored 12 points in an 83-72 win over Eastern Washington on March 3. In 29 games, including 28 starts, he is averaging 12.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 30.7 minutes. He is connecting on 45.7% of his field goals, including a blistering 41.1% from 3-point range, and 82.2% of his free throws. See which team to pick here.
How to make Montana vs. Wisconsin picks
SportsLine's model is leaning Under on the total, projecting 153 combined points. It has also generated an against-the-spread pick that hits in over 50% of simulations. You can only get the model's picks at SportsLine.
So who wins Wisconsin vs. Montana, and which side of the spread hits in 50% of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Montana vs. Wisconsin spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that has returned more than $2,000 on its top-rated college basketball picks, and find out.
