Closing Odds, Score Projections & Betting Splits for Montana vs Wisconsin

• The #14 Montana Grizzlies are in tough against the #3 Wisconsin Badgers
• Wisconsin opened as a 16.5-point ATS and -2400 moneyline favorite
• See the closing Montana vs Wisconsin odds, plus score predictions and betting splits for March 20

The third game of the 2025 NCAA Tournament’s first round will feature the #14 Montana Grizzlies (25-9, 17-11-3 ATS) facing the #3 Wisconsin Badgers (26-9, 22-13 ATS) at Ball Arena in Denver, CO, at 1:30 pm ET. The Montana vs Wisconsin spread opened with the Badgers as 16.5-point favorites and, while that hasn’t moved at all, the moneyline and total have shifted pretty considerably due to heavy betting action on two sides of the lines.

Closing Montana vs Wisconsin Odds

The spread, as mentioned, is still Wisconsin -16.5 with -110 odds each way, but the Badger moneyline has moved from -2400 to -1800, while the Montana moneyline has come down from +1200 to +900. The game total has shown an even bigger shift; after opening at just 49.5, it’s now four points higher at 153.5.

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Odds as of March 20 at ESPN Bet. Lock in an ESPN Bet promo for March Madness.

The movement has obviously been motivated by the money. The table below shows the Montana/Wisconsin betting splits two hours before tip-off.

Montana vs Wisconsin Public Betting Splits

As of 11:33 am ET on Thursday, the Grizzlies were getting 82% of moneyline handle on just 11% of the bets. That means some huge money is on Montana to win, at least compared to the average moneyline wager on the Badgers.

Similarly, when it comes to the total, the March Madness public betting splits show 81% of handle on the over on 76% of the tickets.

The ATS splits are not nearly so lopsided. Montana is still getting the majority of the money, but at just 58%/42%, it’s not terribly surprising that the closing spread is identical to the opening spread.

What does make the odds movement somewhat surprising is that, according to the three main analytics sites, the Badgers are actually being undervalued as a 16.5-point favorite.

Montana vs Wisconsin Projected Score

KenPom projects an 18-point Wisconsin victory while Haslam has the margin at 18.6. Torvik has it the closest with a 17-point Wisconsin victory.

These projections lend credence to the bullish over money early on. Each one has it over 149.5, while KenPom and Torvik have it at 152 and 153, respectively.