Northwestern Wildcats vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, 1/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Michigan State Spartans

Date: Thursday, January 8, 2026

Location: Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI

TV: ESPN+

Breslin Center is the location where the Michigan State Spartans (13-2) will try to beat the Northwestern Wildcats (8-6) on Thursday.

The Northwestern Wildcats took the court against Minnesota and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-78 in their last contest. Northwestern finished having earned a 49.1% field goal percentage (28 out of 57) and buried 6 out of their 23 shots from downtown. At the free throw line, the Wildcats made 16 of their 20 shots for a rate of 80.0%. In relation to rebounding, they earned 19 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 18 assists for this contest as well as forcing 9 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Pertaining to defending, Northwestern allowed the other team to shoot 54.9% from the field on 28 of 51 shooting. Minnesota earned 25 assists and had 2 steals for this game. Additionally, Minnesota collected 28 rebounds (5 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Minnesota finished the game at 84.6% from the free throw line by knocking down 22 of 26 tries. They knocked down 6 of 18 shots from three-point range. Concerning fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 20 while Minnesota had 16 fouls.

Nick Martinelli is one player who was important for the contest. He accounted for 26 points on 11 of 19 shooting. He was on the court for 37 minutes played and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He shot 57.9% from the floor and also recorded 1 assist.

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Northwestern heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 8-6 for the season. They cough up possession 8.8 times per game and as a squad they commit 17.9 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Northwestern is grabbing 33.7 rebounds per game and has accumulated 260 assists so far this year, which is 55th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. The Wildcats are hitting 31.5% on shots from beyond the arc (87 of 276) and 73.9% from the free throw line. They average 80.4 points per outing (121st in Division 1) while hitting 49.0% from the floor.

Defensively, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.0 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 29.1% on shots from downtown and they are 109th in the nation in points per game allowed (70.4). The Wildcats are giving up a field goal percentage of 41.3% (340 of 824) and they relinquish 34.3 boards per game as a team. They rank 237th in the nation in allowing assists to the opposition with 213 conceded this season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Michigan State Spartans went home victorious with a score of 80-51 against USC. The Spartans snagged 28 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 38 in the matchup. They also turned it over 11 times, while recording 9 steals for this contest. USC had 17 personal fouls in the game which took the Spartans to the free throw line for 18 tries. They were able to make 13 of those for a percentage of 72.2%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, Michigan State made 7 of 22 attempts (31.8%). Overall, the Spartans ended up going 30 for 60 from the floor which had them shooting 50.0%. The Spartans allowed USC to knock down 18 of their 55 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 32.7% for this game. They shot 17.6% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 3 of 17 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 16 at the free throw line (75.0%). In relation to team rebounding, Michigan State permitted USC to grab 29 overall (8 on the offensive side).

Coen Carr ended up having an impact for the Spartans in the game. He converted 6 of 14 in this matchup for a field goal rate of 42.9%, and tallied 6 rebounds. He accumulated 18 points in his 24 mins on the court and accumulated 1 assist in this contest.

Michigan State has a mark of 13-2 for the season. The Spartans are committing 16.1 fouls per game and they go 73.4% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 19.3 times per game (15th in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.4 times per contest. Michigan State has totaled 1,186 pts for the campaign (79.1 per game) and they average 42.7 boards per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Spartans are shooting 46.3% from the floor, which ranks them 138th in Division 1.

The Michigan State defense gives up 30.8% on shots from distance (123 of 400) and their opponents are connecting on 73.7% of their free throw attempts. They allow 12.5 assists and 29.3 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 108th and 8th in Division 1. The Spartans on defense are ranked 15th in Division 1 in PPG allowed with 64.4. They are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 38.4% from the floor (17th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Michigan State

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