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College basketball preview capsules

PSU men at Wisconsin

Tipoff: 9 p.m., Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.

Records: Penn State (11-9, 3-4 Big Ten); Wisconsin (16-3, 5-1 Big Ten)

Coaches: Patrick Chambers is 83-100 in his sixth season at Penn State and 125-128 in eight seasons overall. Greg Gard is 31-11 in his second season at Wisconsin and overall.

TV: BTN

Radio: ESPN 1430

Probable Starters: Penn State — G Shep Garner, 6-1 Jr. (12.3), G Tony Carr, 6-3 Fr. (11.4), F Josh Reaves, 6-4 So. (8.5), F Lamar Stevens, 6-7 Fr. (11.6), F Julian Moore, 6-9 Fr. (2.8). Wisconsin — G Zak Showalter, 6-3 Sr. (8.0), F Nigel Hayes, 6-8 Sr. (13.9), F Ethan Happ, 6-10 So. (13.6), G Bronson Koenig, 6-3 Sr. (14.3), F Vito Brown, 6-8 Sr. (7.6).

Notes: Penn State is in its toughest stretch of the season and has not fared well. The Lions lost to Indiana and were routed by no. 21 Purdue, now they travel to No. 15 Wisconsin. … The team’s shooting struggles are becoming a consistent constraint on offensive production. The Lions’ leading scorer against the Boilermakers was Josh Reaves, who only made four of his 11 field-goal attempts. Guard Tony Carr also led the team with only six  rebounds. … Wisconsin has won 12 of their its 13 games and 17 in a row at home. … Ethan Happ leads the Badgers in points, rebounds, blocks and steals since the start of Big Ten play.

Mirror Prediction: Wisconsin 75, Penn State 64

Comment: The Lions have proven to be a few steps away from being a legitimate Big Ten contender. The Badgers are the toughest Big Ten opponent the Lions will face this year, and it comes during a difficult road stretch. Expect Ethan Happ to lead both teams in points and rebounds to give the Badgers a comfortable buffer for the entire game. The Badgers are favored by 14 points.

Mirror prediction record: 16-4

— Paddy Cotter

Louisville at Pitt men

Tipoff: 7 p.m., Petersen Events Center

Records: Louisville (16-4, 4-3 in ACC); Pittsburgh (12-7, 1-5 in ACC)

Coaches: Rick Pitino is 407-138 in his 16th year at Louisville and is 761-266 in his 32nd year overall as a head coach. Kevin Stallings is 12-7 in his first season at Pittsburgh and is 467-290 in his 24th season overall.

TV: ESPNU

Probable starters: Louisville — G Deng Adel, 6-7 so. (10.8), G Donovan Mitchell, 6-3 so. (13.8), F Jaylen Johnson, 6-9 jr. (8.2), F V.J. King, 6-6 fr. (6.5), C Anas Mahmoud, 7-0 jr. (6.5). Pittsburgh — G Chris Jones, 6-6 sr. (6.8), G Jamel Artis, 6-7 sr. (22.0), G Cameron Johnson, 6-8 so. (11.8), F Sheldon Jeter, 6-8 sr. (7.7), F Michael Young, 6-9 sr. (21.1).

Notes: Louisville jumped out to a huge lead and held on for an 85-80 victory at the KFC Yum! Center on Jan. 11. … The Cardinals had won four straight ACC games before losing at No. 10 Florida State. … Louisville is in the midst of playing four of out five games on the road. … Two Louisville starters, Adel (Australia) and Mahmoud (Egypt) hail from foreign countries.

Mirror prediction: Pittsburgh 71, Louisville 69

Comment: No reason to think the Panthers can win this game, but it’s just hard to imagine a team with two great seniors (Artis and Young) being 1-6 in ACC play.

Mirror prediction record: 13-6

— Michael Boytim

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