Northwestern Wildcats vs Iowa Hawkeyes Prediction, 2/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Iowa Hawkeyes

Date: Sunday, February 8, 2026

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, IA

TV: ESPN+

Carver-Hawkeye Arena is the site where the Iowa Hawkeyes (17-5) will take on the Northwestern Wildcats (10-13) on Sunday.

The Northwestern Wildcats faced off with Illinois and ended up losing by a score of 84-44 in their last contest. Northwestern ended having earned a 29.2% FG percentage (19 of 65) and made 4 out of their 25 3-point shots. When they shot from the free throw line, the Wildcats made 2 of 4 attempts for a rate of 50.0%. In the matter of pulling down boards, they earned 20 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also recorded 10 assists for this game while forcing 11 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In relation to defending, Northwestern allowed the other team to shoot 48.3% from the field on 28 of 58 shooting. Illinois distributed 20 dimes and had 1 steal in this contest. Moreover, Illinois collected 48 boards (10 offensive, 38 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Illinois finished 78.6% at the free throw line by knocking down 11 of their 14 attempts. They buried 17 of their 38 tries from 3-point land. With respect to fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 11 while Illinois accounted for 9 fouls.

Tre Singleton is one player who came through for the contest. He totaled 8 points on 3 out of 7 shooting. He was on the court for 22 mins and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He finished the game shooting 42.9% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

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Northwestern heads into this one with a record of 10-13 for the season. They turn it over 8.2 times per contest and as a squad are committing 17.4 personal fouls every game. As a team, Northwestern is grabbing 32.6 boards per game and has totaled 407 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 28th in college in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are connecting on 31.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (144 of 463) and 74.1% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.2 points per game (211th in college hoops) while shooting 46.0% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats have forced 11.0 turnovers per game and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 297th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 351 relinquished for the year. The Wildcats defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.2% (576 of 1,332) and they relinquish 35.6 boards per game as a unit. They surrender 32.3% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 149th in college in opponents points per game (72.5).

When they last stepped on the court, the Iowa Hawkeyes took home the win by a final score of 84-74 when they played Washington. Regarding cleaning the glass, Iowa permitted Washington to collect 27 overall (7 on the offensive glass). They finished 43.8% from beyond the arc by going 7 of 16 and finished the contest at 9 of 11 at the free throw line (81.8%). The Hawkeyes permitted Washington to make 29 of 51 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 56.9% for this contest. At the conclusion of this game, the Hawkeyes ended up going 31 out of 52 from the floor which had them sitting at 59.6%. When discussing shooting from distance, Iowa knocked down 9 of their 19 tries (47.4%). They were able to convert 13 of them for a percentage of 61.9%. Washington committed 17 personal fouls for the game which took the Hawkeyes to the charity stripe for 21 shots. They turned it over 3 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. The Hawkeyes corralled 15 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 19 for this contest.

Bennett Stirtz ended up being important for the Hawkeyes in this matchup. He earned 22 points in his 40 mins of playing time and totaled 5 dimes in this contest. He made 8 out of 13 in the matchup giving him a rate of 61.5%, and accumulated 1 rebound.

Iowa has a record of 17-5 for the year. In terms of offensive execution, the Hawkeyes are shooting 51.2% from the field, which ranks 9th in the country. Iowa has scored 1,721 pts on the season (78.2 per contest) and they pull in 29.9 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 15.9 times per contest (76th in college) and they turn it over 10.0 times per contest. The Hawkeyes are committing 17.7 fouls every game and they connect on 76.7% from the free throw line.

The Iowa defense gives up 30.7% on shots from beyond the arc (126 of 411) and their opponents are converting on 71.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 10.8 dimes and 28.4 boards every game, which is ranked 20th and 2nd in the nation. The Hawkeyes on defense are ranked 8th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 63.5. They have forced 14.1 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (205th in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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