Wisconsin Badgers vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 2/1/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds
Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Northwestern Wildcats
Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025
Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL
TV: FS1
Welsh-Ryan Arena is where the Northwestern Wildcats (12-9) will try to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers (16-5) on Saturday.

The Wisconsin Badgers stepped onto the hardwood against Maryland and took a loss by a score of 76-68 in their last contest. Wisconsin walked away from the game having earned a 37.3% FG percentage (22 out of 59) and knocked down 9 out of their 27 3-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Badgers made 15 of their 21 tries for a rate of 71.4%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 34 with 9 of them being offensive. They also doled out 12 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and getting 2 steals. With respect to defending, Wisconsin allowed their opponent to shoot 40.0% from the floor on 24 out of 60 shooting. Maryland doled out 13 dimes and had 4 steals in this contest. In addition, Maryland had 37 rebounds (9 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Maryland finished shooting 76.2% from the charity stripe by knocking down 16 of their 21 shots. They also knocked down 12 out of their 24 tries from beyond the arc. Regarding personal fouls, the Badgers finished with 19 while Maryland recorded 18 personal fouls.
John Tonje is one guy who was a major factor for this game. He finished the contest at 50.0% from the floor but finished the game without an assist. He saw the court for 32 minutes and totaled 6 rebounds. He left the arena with 23 points on 8 of 16 shooting.
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Wisconsin enters this contest with a mark of 16-5 this year. They are turning it over 10.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.5 fouls every game. As a unit, Wisconsin is pulling down 35.8 boards per game and is sitting with 317 assists on the season, which ranks 99th in college in terms of passing. The Badgers are hitting 36.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (208 of 576) and 84.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 81.8 points per outing (35th in D-1) while connecting on 46.7% from the field.
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On the defensive end of the court, the Badgers are forcing their opponents into 10.8 turnovers per game and they draw 19.1 fouls. They are conceding 32.2% on three-point shots and they are 153rd in Division 1 in points per game allowed (70.6). The Badgers defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.5% (527 of 1,270) and they relinquish 33.0 boards per game as a squad. They are 65th in the country in allowing assists with 239 relinquished so far this year.
The last time they took the court, the Northwestern Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 79-72 when they faced Rutgers. The Wildcats recorded 21 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 for this game. They also coughed up the ball 10 times, while recording 3 steals for this game. Rutgers was called for 16 fouls in this matchup which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 18 shots. They were able to make 15 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 83.3%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Northwestern knocked down 7 of 22 attempts (31.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats walked away from this one shooting 25 for 59 from the floor which had them shooting 42.4%. The Wildcats permitted Rutgers to convert 28 of their 49 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 57.1% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 57.1% from beyond the arc by shooting 8 out of 14 and finished the game at 15 of 25 at the charity stripe (60.0%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Northwestern allowed Rutgers to collect 25 in all (4 offensive).
Jalen Leach ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats in this game. He racked up 23 points in his 31 minutes of playing time and had 4 assists in the game. He made 8 of 12 for the contest giving him a rate of 66.7%, but wrapped this game up without a rebound.
Northwestern has a win-loss mark of 12-9 on the season. The Wildcats have committed 17.9 fouls per contest and they shoot 72.5% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.8 times per game (118th in the country) and they are giving up possession 10.0 times per contest. Northwestern has accounted for 1,556 pts on the year (74.1 per game) and they pull down 34.3 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Wildcats are shooting 44.3% from the field, which has them ranked 215th in college.
The Wildcats are ranked 113th in college in points given up per game with 69.4. They are able to force 14.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 43.5% from the floor (189th in Division 1). The Northwestern defense gives up 33.5% on 3-point shots (148 of 442) and opponents are connecting on 72.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They surrender 15.0 assists and 34.3 rebounds on a nightly basis, which ranks them 313th and 176th in those categories on the defensive end.
Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?
Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northwestern
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Additional Resources:
Northwestern Wildcats - Twitter
Wisconsin Badgers - Twitter