Penn State vs. Wisconsin Big Ten college basketball odds: Star Tyler Wahl set to return for struggling Badgers

A pair of 3-3 teams clash in the Big Ten on Tuesday night in Madison as Penn State visits Wisconsin This spread opened around Badgers -2 but is now up to -4 at Caesars Sportsbook because the Badgers' best player, forward Tyler Wahl, will return from a three-game injury absence after being upgraded to probable earlier today.

Wahl, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, averages 13.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game. He left a Jan. 3 game vs. Minnesota after nine minutes due to an ankle injury. Including that Gophers game, Wisconsin was 11-2 overall (losses by one and three points to Kansas and Wake Forest) and 3-0 in the Big Ten with Wahl. Without him, the Badgers have taken a 10-point loss at Illinois, a four-point home loss to Michigan State, and a 63-45 blowout defeat at Indiana.

In the first 13 games, Wisconsin was holding opponents to 61.2 points per game, 30.4% shooting from 3-point range and 41.9% shooting overall. During the three-game skid, opponents combined to average 70.3 points per game, shoot 45.0% from behind the arc (18 of 40) and 48.4% overall (77 of 159). The Hoosiers finished with 42 points in the paint.

"He is another post presence, which has a domino effect on everything else," Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said of Wahl, a preseason All-Big Ten pick who is the team's most versatile defender. Wahl is able to guard bigs in the post but also switch out to the perimeter on guards.

Wisconsin ranks fifth in the Big Ten in three-point field goal percentage (36.3%). The Badgers have played nine games this season decided by five points or fewer, including three overtime games, holding a 6-3 record in those.

The Badgers have won 21 straight home games against Penn State, including a mark of 18-0 all-time at the Kohl Center. Penn State's last road win at Wisconsin came inside the Wisconsin Field House on Jan. 26, 1995.

Penn State ended a two-game skid last time out with an 85-66 home win over Indiana. The Lions have had six days off since. Jalen Pickett leads PSU in scoring (17.6 PPG), rebounds (7.4 RPG) and assists (7.4 APG), and is the only player in the country averaging 17/7/7. The Nittany Lions have the nation's most experienced roster, per KenPom.

CBS Sports Bracketology expert Jerry Palm currently has Wisconsin as a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and Penn State at No. 9. 

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