Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, 1/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026

Location: Kohl Center in Madison, WI

TV: ESPN+

The Wisconsin Badgers (14-6) host the Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-10) at Kohl Center on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers faced Nebraska and took a loss by a score of 76-57 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up finishing with 11 while Nebraska recorded 17 personal fouls. They also converted 9 of 28 attempts from beyond the arc. Nebraska finished 100.0% from the free throw line by converting 9 of 9 shots. Moreover, Nebraska collected 36 rebounds (8 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Nebraska doled out 24 dimes and had 5 steals for the matchup. When it comes to the defense, Minnesota allowed 47.5% from the field on 29 of 61 shooting. They also recorded 19 assists for the contest in addition to forcing the other team into 7 turnovers and earning 2 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they compiled 26 with 3 of them being of the offensive variety. When they shot from the free throw line, the Golden Gophers converted 6 of their 12 attempts for a percentage of 50.0%. Minnesota walked away from the contest with a 39.6% FG percentage (21 of 53) and buried 9 of 31 shots from downtown.

Bobby Durkin is someone who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up finishing with 16 points on 6 out of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 37 minutes and also pulled down 2 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 46.2% from the field and also dished out 2 dimes.

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Minnesota comes into this contest with a mark of 10-10 so far this year. They average 72.1 pts per contest (286th in the nation) while going 45.1% from the field. The Golden Gophers are hitting 32.6% on shots from distance (158 of 484) and 69.3% from the charity stripe. As a team, Minnesota is pulling down 34.0 rebounds per game and has racked up 363 assists on the year, which ranks 26th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest and as a unit are committing 16.2 fouls per contest.

On the defensive end, the Golden Gophers are able to force 11.4 turnovers per game while drawing 18.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 212th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 280 surrendered on the season. The Golden Gophers defense is allowing a field goal percentage of 42.7% (482 of 1,129) and they concede 33.3 boards per game as a squad. They are surrendering 33.5% on shots from downtown and they rank 55th in college in PPG allowed (68.5).

In their last game, the Wisconsin Badgers took a defeat with a final score of 73-71 when they faced USC. When talking about rebounds, Wisconsin permitted USC to get 38 overall (12 offensive). They shot 25.0% from downtown by shooting 6 of 24 and finished the game at 17 out of 23 from the free throw line (73.9%). The Badgers permitted USC to make 25 out of 61 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 41.0% in this contest. When this game wrapped up, the Badgers finished 23 for 67 from the floor which had them shooting 34.3%. Regarding shots from downtown, Wisconsin made 9 of their 37 attempts (24.3%). They were able to bury 16 of them for a rate of 80.0%. USC had 15 personal fouls for this contest which took the Badgers to the charity stripe for a total of 20 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 6 times, while earning 3 steals for this game. The Badgers were able to corral 22 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive boards for a total of 38 for this game.

Nick Boyd ended up being important for the Badgers for this game. He had 29 points in his 38 mins of playing time and had 3 assists for the matchup. He buried 10 out of 17 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 58.8%, and totaled 6 rebounds.

Wisconsin has a record of 14-6 this year. The Badgers commit 18.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 77.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 16.1 times per game (81st in the nation) and they lose possession via turnover 9.8 times per contest. Wisconsin has earned 1,672 points for the season (83.6 per game) and they average 37.3 boards per game. When it comes to offense, the Badgers are connecting on 45.2% from the field, which is ranked 191st in college.

The Wisconsin defense concedes 32.1% from downtown (152 of 473) and their opponents are making 72.4% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 13.3 dimes and 33.9 boards per game, which is ranked 176th and 152nd in those categories. The Badgers on the defensive end are ranked 226th in D-1 in points allowed per game with 75.3. They are forcing their opponents into 10.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.8% from the floor (186th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Wisconsin

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