Will BYU’s Underdog Bet Pay Off Against the Dominant Badgers?

Ah, college basketball in November—who knew the early season could pack such a punch while football hogs the spotlight? Here we are, with Wisconsin and BYU squaring off at 4:00 ET, and I’m already wondering: why do so many folks snooze through these games, only waking up when March Madness rolls in? It’s like skipping the trailer and diving right into the movie’s climax—missing all the juicy plot twists along the way. Wisconsin has steamrolled a soft schedule to start 4-0, but today’s a whole different beast, especially facing a BYU squad ranked ninth nationally and led by freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa, whose numbers make you do a double take. Sure, the Badgers lost top talent to the NBA and G-League, but is that enough to slow them down? Meanwhile, BYU’s already tangled with elite teams and nearly toppled UConn on their home turf. This matchup’s more than just a game—it’s a litmus test for both squads. I’m leaning toward BYU making this look easy, but hey, that’s just me throwing my hat in the ring. Ready to see who walks away with bragging rights?LEARN MORE.

Wisconsin vs. BYU, 4:00 ET

College basketball is in full swing, and even though it probably isn’t getting as much attention or focus because college football is still going, it has been a fun early-season start. I know a lot of people who refuse to watch the NBA before Christmas, and a lot of people who won’t watch college hoops until March, but I think you’re missing out on a lot of great action, both sports betting and entertainment, if you fall into one of those camps. Lucky for you, even if you don’t want to watch, I’m here to give you plays on games like today’s matchup between Wisconsin and BYU.

Wisconsin comes into the game as the 23rd–ranked team in the nation. They have started their season with a soft schedule, as most teams do, and walked their way to a 4-0 record. Today will be their first true test of the season. They opened the year with an easy win over Campbell, then faced Northern Illinois and beat them by 25. The next two games were also some games, and they beat Ball State by 31, and SIU Edwardsville by 25. While I recognize some value in having easy games to start the year, I also wonder just how prepared players are getting for games like this when they have to face the likely #1 overall draft pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. The Wisconsin team had a nice enough recruiting class with three four-star recruits and a good handful of players coming over in the transfer portal. They still lost their best player to the NBA, and another one of their leading scorers to the G-League (I think).

BYU is currently the 9th ranked team in the nation, and they are 3-1 to start the year. They are certainly a good enough program, but not one of the most recognized names in the game. The Cougars do have one extremely distinct advantage I already mentioned. They have a guy by the name of AJ Dybantsa. The freshman forward is off to a great start, at least reaching, if not exceeding, expectations. He has played in all four games, averaging 30 minutes, 20.3 points, and 6.8 rebounds per game. He could probably improve his defense a bit, but for now, his offense prowess seems to be more than enough. He can score from all three levels, but he doesn’t tend to shoot a ton of threes. BYU has put together a tough beginning of their season. They took on Villanova to open their year on a neutral court and took that game by five. Then they had a couple easy games that they won without issue. Their most recent game, on the 15th, was against UConn. It was a neutral court game, technically. However, it was in Boston, so it was much more UConn-oriented than BYU. Also, keep in mind that UConn has won two of the past three championships, so this is an elite program. They lost that game by two points.

There was some sloppy play near the end for BYU, but there is no reason to hang their heads in shame. They were able to battle with UConn and came back from a 9-point deficit in the second half. BYU will probably take some time to learn how to pull out close victories over great teams. I really like the way the team looks, though, and think that this will be at least a Sweet 16 squad, if not Final Four potential. I’m backing them here to make light work of the Badgers.

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