Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 1/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Nebraska Cornhuskers vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Monday, January 5, 2026

Location: Value City Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: FS1

The Ohio State Buckeyes (9-3) host the Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-0) at Value City Arena on Monday.

The Nebraska Cornhuskers played New Hampshire and earned the victory with a final of 86-55 in their last game. Nebraska finished having earned a 45.8% FG percentage (27 of 59) and buried 5 of their 23 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Cornhuskers made 27 of their 35 tries for a rate of 77.1%. In regard to grabbing rebounds, they collected a total of 41 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 17 assists for the game in addition to forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and earning 8 steals. When discussing defense, Nebraska let their opponent shoot 32.1% from the floor on 18 out of 56 shooting. New Hampshire doled out 9 dimes and had 8 steals for this contest. In addition, New Hampshire grabbed 30 rebounds (10 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. New Hampshire walked away from this one shooting 64.7% from the charity stripe by making 11 of 17 attempts. They made 8 of 32 shots from downtown. When it comes to personal fouls, the Cornhuskers left the arena with 13 and New Hampshire had 24 personal fouls.

Pryce Sandfort is one guy who was a contributor for the game. He ended up shooting 46.7% from the field and also distributed 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes played and also grabbed 7 boards. He walked away with 19 points on 7 of 15 shooting.

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Nebraska heads into this one with a win-loss record of 13-0 on the year. They cough up possession 9.5 times per contest and as a team they are committing 13.9 fouls every game. As a unit, Nebraska is collecting 38.3 rebounds per game and has tallied 246 assists this year, which ranks 40th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Cornhuskers are connecting on 34.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (134 of 393) and 74.7% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 83.5 points per contest (76th in D-1) while hitting 48.1% from the floor.

Defensively, the Cornhuskers are able to force 12.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.8 personal fouls. They are 150th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 174 conceded so far this year. The Cornhuskers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 37.6% (304 of 808) and they concede 35.4 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 29.7% on 3-point attempts while they are 39th in the country in points per game from their opponents (66.2).

The last time they took the court, the Ohio State Buckeyes took home the win by a final score of 89-63 when they played Grambling. When talking about rebounding, Ohio State allowed Grambling to get 18 in all (7 on the offensive side). They finished 28.6% from three-point range by shooting 6 of 21 and ended up going 17 out of 23 at the free throw line (73.9%). The Buckeyes allowed Grambling to convert 20 out of 52 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 38.5% for the game. When the final whistle blew, the Buckeyes finished the game shooting 31 for 50 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 62.0%. When discussing shooting from downtown, Ohio State buried 6 out of their 18 attempts (33.3%). They were able to convert 21 of the free throws for a rate of 84.0%. Grambling had 20 fouls in the matchup which took the Buckeyes to the free throw line for a total of 25 attempts. They turned the ball over 14 times, while recording 4 steals in the game. The Buckeyes were able to pull down 20 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 27 for the matchup.

John Mobley Jr. was important for the Buckeyes for the contest. He tallied 20 points in his 30 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes for the matchup. He knocked down 6 out of 10 in this game giving him a field goal percentage of 60.0%, and had 1 rebound.

Ohio State has a win-loss mark of 9-3 on the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Buckeyes are shooting 50.9% from the field, which is ranked 23rd in college. Ohio State has earned 1,035 points for the season (86.3 per game) and they grab 36.9 boards per game. They are earning an assist 17.3 times per contest (61st in college) and they are giving up possession 11.0 times per contest. The Buckeyes are responsible for committing 17.8 fouls every game and they hit 78.8% from the charity stripe.

The Buckeyes are ranked 153rd in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 71.9. They are forcing their opponents into 12.0 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.8% from the field (97th in D-1). The Ohio State defense concedes 30.2% on shots from 3-point land (89 of 295) and their opposition knocks down 71.8% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 12.8 assists and 31.3 total rebounds per game, which ranks 148th and 50th in college hoops.

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

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

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