Milwaukee Panthers vs Wright State Raiders Prediction, 1/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Milwaukee Panthers vs Wright State Raiders

Date: Thursday, January 1, 2026

Location: Nutter Center in Dayton, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Milwaukee Panthers (6-6) are traveling to Nutter Center on Thursday where they will try to beat the Wright State Raiders (6-7).

The Milwaukee Panthers played Cleveland State and took home the win by a score of 81-71 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Panthers walked away with 18 and Cleveland State had 13 fouls. They made 9 of 23 tries from distance. Cleveland State finished the contest at 72.7% at the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of their 22 shots. On top of that, Cleveland State snagged 25 rebounds (5 offensive, 20 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Cleveland State recorded 10 assists and had but didn't notch a steal. Regarding defense, Milwaukee allowed 41.8% from the floor on 23 of 55 shooting. They also recorded 18 assists for this contest as well as forcing the other team into 6 turnovers and having 2 steals. In regard to rebounding, they compiled 42 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Panthers buried 8 of 10 tries for a rate of 80.0%. Milwaukee ended the contest having earned a 43.7% field goal percentage (31 out of 71) and converted 11 of 32 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Josh Dixon is one guy who had an impact for this contest. He finished shooting 52.6% from the field and distributed 1 assist. He played 35 mins played and also grabbed 3 boards. He racked up 28 points on 10 of 19 shooting.

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Milwaukee enters this one with a mark of 6-6 on the campaign. They average 80.5 points per game (121st in D-1) while going 44.1% from the field. The Panthers are hitting 32.6% on 3-pointers (99 of 304) and 68.4% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Milwaukee is collecting 38.2 boards per game and is sitting with 177 assists for the season, which ranks 233rd in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 9.6 times per contest and as a group they are committing 19.3 personal fouls per contest.

On the defensive end of the court, the Panthers are forcing 12.1 turnovers per game and they draw 17.3 personal fouls. They are 288th in college in giving up assists with 196 conceded so far this year. The Panthers defensively are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.5% (339 of 713) and they surrender 35.5 boards per contest as a squad. They are relinquishing 39.0% on shots from distance and they are ranked 331st in the nation in PPG allowed (81.3).

The last time they took the court, the Wright State Raiders got the victory with a final of 70-64 against Eastern Michigan. The Raiders were able to snag 26 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards for a total of 37 for the game. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. Eastern Michigan committed 21 fouls for this game which got the Raiders to the free throw line for 32 tries. They were able to convert 20 of the free throws for a percentage of 62.5%. In relation to shooting from distance, Wright State knocked down 4 of 15 attempts (26.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Raiders went 23 out of 50 from the floor which had them shooting 46.0%. The Raiders allowed Eastern Michigan to convert 24 of their 58 tries from the field which had them sitting at 41.4% for the contest. They finished 38.5% from beyond the perimeter by going 5 of 13 and ended up shooting 11 of 16 from the free throw line (68.8%). In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Wright State allowed Eastern Michigan to collect 28 overall (8 on the offensive side).

Michael Cooper was important for the Raiders for this game. He had 18 points in his 34 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist for the matchup. He knocked down 7 of 15 for the matchup for a field goal rate of 46.7%, and totaled 6 rebounds.

Wright State has a mark of 6-7 on the year. As an offensive team, the Raiders are hitting on 47.9% from the floor, which has them ranked 81st in D-1. Wright State has scored 1,010 pts for the year (77.7 per contest) and they pull in 34.9 boards per contest. They are earning an assist 14.3 times per contest (195th in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 11.3 times per game. The Raiders have committed 18.5 personal fouls every game and they connect on 66.0% from the charity stripe.

The Raiders defensively are ranked 70th in college in PPG surrendered with 67.9. They are forcing 14.7 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 44.5% from the floor (240th in college). The Wright State defense surrenders 30.5% on shots from 3-point land (75 of 246) and opponents are converting on 67.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 10.8 assists and 32.9 boards on a nightly basis, which is 37th and 103rd in those categories.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Wright State

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