Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 1/14/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Illinois Fighting Illini vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Illinois Fighting Illini (13-3) are traveling to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday where they will attempt to defeat the Northwestern Wildcats (8-8).

The Illinois Fighting Illini faced off with Iowa and earned the victory with a final of 75-69 in their last game. When it comes to personal fouls, the Fighting Illini ended up finishing with 11 and Iowa racked up 14 personal fouls. They knocked down 9 out of their 29 tries from distance. Iowa went 100.0% at the charity stripe by converting 6 of 6 shots. Furthermore, Iowa grabbed 28 boards (9 offensive, 19 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Iowa distributed 19 assists and had 5 steals in the game. When discussing the defense, Illinois allowed the other team to go 40.9% from the field on 27 of 66 shooting. They also recorded 15 assists for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 8 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In terms of grabbing boards, they compiled 34 with 8 of them being offensive. At the charity stripe, the Fighting Illini buried 9 of 11 tries for a percentage of 81.8%. Illinois walked away from the game having earned a 49.1% FG percentage (28 of 57) and knocked down 10 of their 28 3-point attempts.

Keaton Wagler is one player who was important for the contest. He accounted for 19 points on 5 of 9 shooting. He played 34 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He finished the contest at 55.6% from the floor and dished out 4 assists.

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Illinois enters this one with a mark of 13-3 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 9.9 times per game and as a squad are committing 13.3 fouls per contest. As a team, Illinois is grabbing 42.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 237 assists this year, which has them ranked 204th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Fighting Illini are shooting 34.8% on shots from 3-point land (164 of 471) and 79.8% from the charity stripe. They average 86.0 points per game (38th in the nation) while connecting on 47.7% from the floor.

Defensively, the Fighting Illini are able to force 8.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.6 personal fouls. They are giving up 30.9% from 3-point land while they are 51st in the country in points per game from their opponents (67.4). The Fighting Illini defensively are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 39.5% (408 of 1,032) and they surrender 31.1 rebounds per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 70th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 197 relinquished this season.

For their last game, the Northwestern Wildcats took a defeat with a final score of 77-75 when they faced Rutgers. When it comes to rebounds, Northwestern allowed Rutgers to snag 46 in all (13 offensive). They finished shooting 31.6% from three-point range by going 6 of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 19 out of 27 from the charity stripe (70.4%). The Wildcats permitted Rutgers to make 26 of their 64 tries from the floor which had them shooting 40.6% in the game. When the game finished, the Wildcats shot 26 out of 63 from the field which gave them a rate of 41.3%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, Northwestern made 6 out of their 18 attempts (33.3%). They were able to bury 17 of the free throws for a rate of 58.6%. Rutgers had 21 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 29 shots. They also turned it over 6 times, while recording 5 steals for the contest. The Wildcats collected 28 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 38 in this matchup.

Nick Martinelli ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for the matchup. He converted 11 of 22 for this game for a rate of 50.0%, and had 12 rebounds. He had 34 points in his 44 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest.

Northwestern has a mark of 8-8 so far this season. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are hitting on 47.7% from the field, which has them ranked 74th in the nation. Northwestern has 1,266 points for the season (79.1 per contest) and they average 33.6 boards per game. They are getting an assist 18.4 times per contest (21st in college) and they turn it over 8.4 times per game. The Wildcats have committed 18.5 personal fouls per game and they shoot 73.1% from the free throw line.

The Northwestern defense gives up 29.2% from downtown (107 of 367) and their opponents are knocking down 73.5% of their free throw shots. They give up 15.3 assists and 35.6 boards per contest, which is ranked 299th and 241st in college. The Wildcats are ranked 120th in Division 1 in points given up per game with 71.2. They are forcing 11.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.6% from the floor (86th in college).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Illinois

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