Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 1/20/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Location: Value City Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-8) are en route to Value City Arena on Tuesday where they will meet the Ohio State Buckeyes (12-5).

The Minnesota Golden Gophers faced off with Illinois and took a loss by a score of 77-67 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Golden Gophers finished with 16 and Illinois accounted for 9 personal fouls. They also knocked down 13 of 35 tries from distance. Illinois went 84.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of 19 shots. On top of that, Illinois snagged 38 rebounds (15 offensive, 23 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Illinois totaled 16 assists and had 5 steals in this game. When discussing defending, Minnesota allowed 40.7% from the field on 24 out of 59 shooting. They also doled out 16 assists for this game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With regard to rebounding, they compiled 29 with 11 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Golden Gophers converted 3 of their 3 attempts for a percentage of 100.0%. Minnesota walked away from the game with a 40.0% field goal percentage (26 of 65) and knocked down 12 out of their 35 3-pointers.

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is a player who was a major factor for the game. He finished with 22 points on 8 of 18 shooting. He played 29 minutes played and also grabbed 8 rebounds. He finished 44.4% from the floor and recorded 3 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Parlay Picks

Minnesota enters this contest with a mark of 10-8 this season. They cough up possession 10.9 times per contest and as a unit they commit 16.3 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Minnesota is grabbing 34.3 boards per game and is sitting with 331 assists on the year, which has them ranked 30th in college in terms of passing the rock. The Golden Gophers are connecting on 33.1% on shots from 3-point land (141 of 426) and 69.2% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 72.8 pts per contest (278th in D-1) while shooting 45.8% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Golden Gophers are forcing 11.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They rank 181st in Division 1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 245 surrendered for the season. The Golden Gophers defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.1% (422 of 1,003) and they surrender 32.5 boards per game as a unit. They surrender 33.9% on 3-point attempts and they rank 43rd in college in points per game allowed (67.3).

In their last game, the Ohio State Buckeyes got the victory with a final of 86-74 against UCLA. The Buckeyes collected 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards totaling 32 for this game. They gave up possession 10 times, while earning 1 steal in the matchup. UCLA was called for 20 fouls in the matchup which got the Buckeyes to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They were able to make 21 of those for a percentage of 84.0%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Ohio State made 9 out of 24 tries (37.5%). When the final whistle blew, the Buckeyes ended up shooting 28 for 53 from the floor which had them shooting 52.8%. The Buckeyes permitted UCLA to convert 25 of their 62 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.3% in the game. They went 39.1% from 3-point land via 9 of 23 and ended up shooting 15 of 19 from the free throw line (78.9%). In relation to how they cleaned up the glass, Ohio State permitted UCLA to grab 26 in total (13 offensive).

John Mobley Jr. was important for the Buckeyes for the game. He made 8 out of 15 for this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and accumulated 3 rebounds. He recorded 28 points in his 38 minutes of playing time and had 3 assists for the contest.

Ohio State has a mark of 12-5 so far this year. The Buckeyes commit 17.5 personal fouls every game and they shoot 79.1% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 16.1 times per game (83rd in the country) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.9 times per game. Ohio State has totaled 1,416 pts this year (83.3 per contest) and they pull in 36.6 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Buckeyes are hitting on 49.9% from the field, which is 21st in the country.

The Buckeyes on defense are ranked 137th in the nation in points given up per game with 72.1. They are able to force 10.8 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.8% from the field (80th in college hoops). The Ohio State defense gives up 30.0% on three-point shots (125 of 417) and opponents are converting on 73.9% of their free throw shots. They allow 12.9 dimes and 31.3 rebounds per contest, which ranks 152nd and 39th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Ohio State and under the total points

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.