2 Best College Basketball Bets and Player Props for Montana vs. Wisconsin

The 3 seed Wisconsin Badgers enter the 2025 Men's College Basketball Tournament in solid form, having advanced to the Big Ten Conference Championship game, where they fell to the Michigan Wolverines.

They did, though, play four games in four days and now have to turn around to face the 14 seed Montana Grizzlies in their tourney opener.

Which bets stand out for this East Region showdown? We'll run through what I'm seeing here today.

To see thoughts on other games, check out our full men's college basketball tournament predictions page. But for Montana vs. Wisconsin, here are my favorite bets in FanDuel Sportsbook's college basketball betting odds.

Betting Picks for Montana vs. Wisconsin

Wisconsin -16.5 (-120)

Obviously, this is a big number. But models I trust say it should be even a bit larger.

When I use a blended power rating of four different sources -- KenPom, Bart Torvik, The Power Rank, and ESPN BPI -- it spits out a spread of more than 18 points.

This is likely due to Montana's performance against quality teams. The lone top-50 teams they faced in KenPom's rankings this year were Tennessee and Oregon. They lost those two contests by an average of 33 points. They were 0-4 against teams inside KenPom's top 100, losing by an average of 20.5 points.

Even with this number being intimidating, I do think we can feel comfortable laying the points.

John Tonje Under 21.5 Points (-114)

This is where the Badgers' grueling schedule will play a bigger role for me.

Tonje is the Badgers' clear star, averaging 19.2 points on 31.0 minutes per game during the regular season. Because of his play, they leaned on him heavily down the stretch as Tonje played 32-plus minutes in 3 of 4 games during the conference tournament. It's possible his legs got a bit tired, leading to his 1-for-14 shooting day in the championship game.

If the Badgers build a lead, it'd likely behoove them to let Tonje sit down the stretch in preparation for Saturday's second-round matchup. The anecdotal evidence points toward muted expectations.

From a data perspective, Tonje scored 20-plus points in just 40% of his games this year. Thus, I think we've got a couple of routes to an under, even if we should be excited to watch Tonje later in the tourney.

You can also download our FREE college basketball printable bracket.

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Which bets stand out to you for today's games? Check out FanDuel Sportsbook's latest men's college basketball betting odds to see the full menu of options.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.