Horizon League Tournament: IUPUI v. Milwaukee

Who will WIN this matchup?

IUPUI Jaguars (14-4)

Milwaukee Panthers (19-6)

Current odds:

IUPUI Jaguars: (-210)

Milwaukee Panthers: (+175)

• The line for this game is IUPUI by 4.5 points.

• IUPUI boasts the league’s top scoring offense at 72.5 points per game and while Milwaukee sits in the middle of the pack on offense, this game features two of the best defenses the Horizon League has to offer. Milwaukee holds the No. 2 scoring defense at 55.9 points per game, while IUPUI is allowing just 58.1 points per game, good for third in the league.

• The Panthers bring in the best field goal percentage defense, allowing opposing teams to shoot just 35.4 percent from the field. IUPUI is the best shooting team in the league, hitting 46.5 percent of its shots. Neither team surrenders threes easily as IUPUI is tops in the league allowing teams to shoot 26.5 percent from deep and Milwaukee is second at 27.6% from deep. IUPUI is the top three point shooting team in the league at 38.2 percent.

• In the first two meetings this season, IUPUI hit 50 percent from three in the first meeting but just 17 percent in the second game.

• If the game comes down to free throws, Milwaukee brings a big advantage in to the game. As a team, Milwaukee is hitting 83.6 percent from the stripe to lead the Horizon League. IUPUI sits at seventh at 69 percent. In the two games this season, IUPUI was 38-for-57 from the line while Milwaukee was 38-for-45.

• Since dropping three straight games from January 22-29, including two to Milwaukee, IUPUI has won six in a row including a 86-64 victory over Oakland in the Horizon League Tournament.

• The league announced postseason awards last week and the Jaguars’ Macee Williams was named Horizon League Player of the Year for an unprecedented third straight season. Williams leads a high-powered offense with 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

• Redshirt junior Rachel McLimore has also been a solid piece for head coach Austin Parkinson, as she was named to the All-League Second Team and All-Defensive Team. This season, McLimore is averaging 14.0 points, 2.8 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

• Milwaukee has won four-straight games after an overtime loss to Oakland on Feb. 12. The Panthers dispatched of No. 7 seed Youngtown State 77-68 in the quarterfinal round. Mckaela Schmelzer led the Panthers with 24 points and two other Panthers finished in double figures.

• Megan Walstad (All-League First Team) and Brandi Bisping (All-League Second Team) lead the Panthers on offense at 12.5 and 11.4 points per game respectively. Walstad pulls down 8.9 rebounds per game, while Bisping is right behind at 8.6.