The Big Ten Conference Tournament Semifinals will take place on Saturday with game one featuring the 5^th-seed Wisconsin Badgers facing the 1^st-seed Purdue Boilermakers with the Big Ten Tournament taking place in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the Target Center and with this matchup scheduled to start at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday afternoon and will air on CBS.

The last time the Wisconsin Badgers made it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game was the 2016-17 college basketball season, however, the Badgers will have a chance to play for the Big Ten Tournament Championship with a win against the Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday afternoon. The Badges have secured their bid to the NCAA Tournament and will be looking to improve their seeding with a win against one of the top teams in college basketball this season and a team they lost to twice this season by a score of 69-75 at home and 70-78 on the road in their regular-season finale. 

Wisconsin advanced to the Big Ten Semifinals following wins against the Maryland Terrapins by a score of 87-56 in the 2^nd round of the Big Ten Tournament and the Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten Quarterfinals by a score of 70-61. The Badgers struggled down the stretch to end the season losing three of their final four games, however, they have looked a lot better in the tournament and have won their two games by an average margin of 15 points per game while allowing an average of 58.5 points per game in the tournament. 

The Badgers will look to avenge their losses against the Boilermakers by defeating them in the Big Ten Semifinals and advancing to the Big Ten Championship game for the first time since the 2016-17 college basketball season.

The Purdue Boilermakers have been the best team in the Big Ten Conference this season and have won back-to-back regular season championships in the conference. The Boilermakers will be no worse than the #2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament after advancing to the Big Ten Semifinals and with both the Arizona Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers suffering blowout losses in their conference tournaments. 

Purdue is also one of the hottest teams in college basketball as they enter this game riding a six-game winning streak following Friday’s 67-62 win against the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Quarterfinals. The Boilermakers had two close matchups against the Wisconsin Badgers winning by an average margin of 7 points per game, however, they won both matchups earlier this season including their season finale at home by a score of 70-78, however, the Boilermakers failed to cover the spread as a 10.5-point favorite at home. 

The Purdue Boilermakers will look to improve their record to 3-0 this season against the Wisconsin Badgers and advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the 3^rd consecutive season with a win on Saturday afternoon.

JustBet has the Purdue Boilermakers listed as 7.5-point favorites against the Wisconsin Badgers in the Big Ten Conference Semifinals on Saturday afternoon. Purdue won both meetings this season, however, each team covered the spread on the road in those games and the Boilermakers have only won by an average margin of 7 points per game in both games this season.

The Purdue Boilermakers have been the best team in the Big Ten Conference this season and will be looking to advance to their 3^rd consecutive Big Ten Tournament Championship game with a win against the Badgers on Saturday. Purdue swept the regular season series, however, the Boilermakers failed to cover the spread in the 2^nd game in the series and have a losing record against the spread in conference games this season with a record of 9-12. I look for the Boilermakers to get the win, however, I look for the game to be tightly contested which is why I am buying the .5 point and taking the points with the Wisconsin Badgers when they face the Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten Conference Semifinals on Saturday afternoon.