Northern Kentucky Norse vs Oakland Golden Grizzlies Prediction, 2/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northern Kentucky Norse vs Oakland Golden Grizzlies

Date: Sunday, February 1, 2026

Location: OU Credit Union O'rena in Rochester, MI

TV: ESPN+

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies (13-10) are welcoming the Northern Kentucky Norse (14-8) at OU Credit Union O'rena on Sunday.

The Northern Kentucky Norse took the court against Wright State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 88-80 in their last contest. When discussing fouls, the Norse ended up finishing with 25 and Wright State accounted for 15 fouls. They also knocked down 5 out of their 14 attempts from beyond the arc. Wright State finished the game shooting 80.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 29 of their 36 shots. In addition, Wright State collected 30 rebounds (12 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Wright State totaled 8 assists and had 11 steals in this game. With respect to the defense, Northern Kentucky allowed the other team to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 27 out of 54 shooting. They also doled out 7 dimes in this contest in addition to creating 9 turnovers and getting 5 steals. In terms of hauling in boards, they collected 24 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Norse converted 11 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 68.8%. Northern Kentucky wrapped up the contest having earned a 55.2% FG percentage (32 of 58) and converted 5 of their 21 shots from downtown.

Dan Gherezgher Jr. is a guy who was a major factor for this contest. He shot 70.6% from the floor and also dished out 2 dimes. He played 39 mins played and also snagged 3 boards. He finished with 30 points on 12 of 17 shooting.

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Northern Kentucky will play this game with a mark of 14-8 on the campaign. They are averaging 84.6 pts per contest (42nd in the nation) while hitting 48.0% from the field. The Norse are connecting on 34.5% on 3-point shots (201 of 583) and 73.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Northern Kentucky is pulling in 35.5 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 344 dimes this season, which ranks 67th in college in terms of passing the rock. They are losing possession via turnover 12.3 times per game and as a team they are committing 18.0 personal fouls every game.

Defensively, the Norse have forced 14.5 turnovers per game and they draw 18.4 fouls. They are 254th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 304 surrendered this season. The Norse defensively are giving up a field goal percentage of 45.1% (589 of 1,307) and they surrender 34.2 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 34.8% on shots from downtown and they are 249th in college hoops in points per game allowed (76.3).

The last time they took the court, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies got the victory with a final of 74-65 against IPFW. In relation to team rebounding, Oakland permitted IPFW to pull down 29 in all (7 on the offensive side). They shot 32.5% from three-point range by shooting 13 of 40 and walked away from this one shooting 4 of 7 at the charity stripe (57.1%). The Golden Grizzlies permitted IPFW to bury 24 out of their 69 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 34.8% for this game. When the final whistle blew, the Golden Grizzlies finished the game shooting 26 for 59 from the field which had them at 44.1%. When talking about shots from distance, Oakland buried 8 out of their 21 attempts (38.1%). They were able to make 14 of those for a clip of 70.0%. IPFW committed 18 personal fouls for this contest which took the Golden Grizzlies to the free throw line for 20 attempts. They turned it over 10 times, while getting 6 steals for this contest. The Golden Grizzlies corralled 33 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 42 for the matchup.

Michael Houge was important for the Golden Grizzlies in this matchup. He tallied 15 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 1 assist for this game. He knocked down 6 out of 15 for this contest for a rate of 40.0%, and totaled 11 rebounds.

Oakland has a mark of 13-10 on the campaign. On the offensive side of the court, the Golden Grizzlies are shooting 47.6% from the floor, which ranks 60th in D-1. Oakland has earned 1,929 pts on the campaign (83.9 per game) and they grab 35.1 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 15.8 times per game (87th in Division 1) and they turn it over 10.2 times per contest. The Golden Grizzlies commit 14.9 fouls per game and they hit 74.7% from the free throw line.

The Oakland defense concedes 33.0% on three-point shots (196 of 594) and their opponents are making 72.7% of their foul shots. They have relinquished 19.7 assists and 36.6 rebounds every game, ranking them 365th and 297th in those categories on the defensive end. The Golden Grizzlies on defense are ranked 342nd in the country in points allowed per contest with 81.8. They are forcing 11.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 47.6% from the floor (337th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Oakland

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