Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 1/11/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Sunday, January 11, 2026

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: ESPN+

The Northwestern Wildcats (8-6) are en route to Jersey Mike’s Arena on Sunday where they will go up against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-7).

The Northwestern Wildcats played Michigan State and ended up losing by a score of 76-66 in their last game. Regarding personal fouls, the Wildcats finished with 24 and Michigan State recorded 14 personal fouls. They made 5 of their 18 attempts from beyond the arc. Michigan State finished 69.7% at the charity stripe by making 23 of their 33 tries. In addition, Michigan State collected 41 rebounds (11 offensive, 30 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Michigan State dished out 17 assists and had 3 steals in the matchup. When it comes to defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 49.0% from the field on 24 of 49 shooting. They also distributed 14 assists in the game as well as forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they earned 22 with 7 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Wildcats converted 16 of their 20 tries for a rate of 80.0%. Northwestern walked away from the contest having earned a 37.9% FG percentage (22 of 58) and made 6 of their 26 3-pointers.

Nick Martinelli is someone who was a factor for the contest. He walked away from this one shooting 72.7% from the field but had no assists when the time ran out. He saw the court for 39 minutes played and totaled 5 boards. He recorded 28 points on 8 of 11 shooting.

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Northwestern steps onto the hardwood with a record of 8-6 on the campaign. They lose possession by turning the ball over 8.8 times per contest and as a team they commit 17.9 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Northwestern is snagging 33.7 boards per contest and has racked up 260 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 66th in college hoops in terms of passing. The Wildcats are connecting on 31.5% on three-point shots (87 of 276) and 73.9% from the charity stripe. They average 80.4 points per contest (117th in the country) while going 49.0% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.0 fouls. They currently rank 222nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 213 relinquished so far this season. The Wildcats defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 41.3% (340 of 824) and they surrender 34.3 boards per contest as a team. They give up 29.1% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 107th in the nation in PPG allowed (70.4).

When they last stepped on the court, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took a loss by a score of 81-55 against Illinois. Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Rutgers allowed Illinois to get 41 in total (9 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 35.5% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 11 of 31 and walked away from this one shooting 18 out of 21 at the free throw line (85.7%). The Scarlet Knights allowed Illinois to bury 26 of 59 tries from the field which had them shooting 44.1% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Scarlet Knights finished 23 for 63 from the field which gave them a rate of 36.5%. With respect to shooting from downtown, Rutgers converted 6 out of 22 tries (27.3%). They were able to bury 3 of them for a rate of 37.5%. Illinois was called for 8 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Scarlet Knights to the free throw line for a total of 8 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Scarlet Knights recorded 21 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 30 in this contest.

Kaden Powers ended up being a major contributor for the Scarlet Knights in this game. He racked up 12 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and added 1 assist in this contest. He converted 5 of 12 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 41.7%, and had 1 rebound.

Rutgers has a record of 8-7 so far this season. The Scarlet Knights are committing 16.5 fouls per contest and they connect on 72.7% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 10.7 times per contest (356th in D-1) and they turn it over 11.4 times per game. Rutgers has accounted for 1,054 pts for the season (70.3 per game) and they snag 35.7 boards per game. As an offense, the Scarlet Knights are shooting 40.6% from the field, which ranks 341st in the country.

The Rutgers defense concedes 36.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (122 of 332) and opponents are connecting on 72.4% of their foul shots. They have conceded 14.4 dimes and 35.9 rebounds every game, which ranks them 254th and 258th in those categories. The Scarlet Knights are ranked 159th in the country in PPG given up with 72.5. They are forcing 12.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.4% from the floor (238th in college hoops).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Northwestern

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