Northwestern Wildcats vs USC Trojans Prediction, 1/21/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs USC Trojans

Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2026

Location: Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ESPN+

The USC Trojans (14-4) will take on the Northwestern Wildcats (8-10) at Galen Center on Wednesday.

The Northwestern Wildcats played Nebraska and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 77-58 in their last game. Northwestern walked away from the game having earned a 42.6% FG percentage (23 of 54) and made 5 out of their 14 shots from distance. At the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 7 of their 10 attempts for a rate of 70.0%. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 28 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 15 dimes in the matchup as well as forcing 5 turnovers and having 1 steal. Regarding defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 50.9% from the floor on 27 out of 53 shooting. Nebraska earned 18 dimes and had 7 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Nebraska collected 26 rebounds (6 offensive, 20 defensive), but didn't have a block. Nebraska finished 80.0% from the free throw line by converting 12 of their 15 tries. They buried 11 of 26 tries from 3-point range. In the matter of fouls, the Wildcats walked away with 12 while Nebraska recorded 12 fouls.

Nick Martinelli is a player who was a contributor for the game. He went 45.0% from the field and distributed 2 assists. He played for 38 mins and collected 10 boards. He left the arena with 22 points on 9 out of 20 shooting.

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Northwestern will enter this matchup with a mark of 8-10 for the season. They are turning it over 8.5 times per game and as a group they commit 17.9 fouls every game. As a team, Northwestern is pulling in 33.2 boards per contest and has accumulated 321 dimes this year, which is 42nd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are shooting 31.5% on shots from downtown (113 of 359) and 73.6% from the free throw line. They average 77.3 points per game (170th in college) while hitting 47.0% from the floor.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 11.3 turnovers every game while drawing 18.0 fouls. They are relinquishing 30.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 133rd in D-1 in opponents PPG (71.9). The Wildcats defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.5% (447 of 1,053) and they concede 35.0 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 274th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 273 conceded so far this season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the USC Trojans took a loss by a final score of 69-64 against Purdue. The Trojans were able to snag 28 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 38 for the game. They gave up possession of the ball 13 times, while getting 6 steals for this game. Purdue was called for 15 personal fouls in this contest which got the Trojans to the charity stripe for 14 attempts. They were able to convert 5 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 35.7%. In the matter of 3-pointers, USC made 3 of their 20 tries (15.0%). Overall, the Trojans went 28 out of 61 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.9%. The Trojans allowed Purdue to make 23 out of their 55 tries from the floor which had them shooting 41.8% in the game. They finished shooting 33.3% from beyond the perimeter by going 7 of 21 and ended up going 16 out of 22 at the charity stripe (72.7%). In relation to cleaning the glass, USC allowed Purdue to get 30 overall (5 on the offensive glass).

Chad Baker-Mazara pitched in for the Trojans for the matchup. He recorded 15 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and earned 3 dimes for the game. He converted 7 of 17 in this game giving him a rate of 41.2%, and tallied 5 rebounds.

USC has a mark of 14-4 on the campaign. The Trojans are responsible for committing 19.6 fouls per contest and they hit 72.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 16.5 times per game (67th in the nation) and they turn it over 12.9 times per contest. USC has tallied 1,501 pts for the campaign (83.4 per game) and they pull down 37.6 rebounds per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Trojans are shooting 47.4% from the floor, which is ranked 78th in the country.

The Trojans defensively are ranked 244th in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 75.8. They are able to force 13.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 41.7% from the field (73rd in college). The USC defense gives up 31.0% on 3-point attempts (145 of 468) and opponents are connecting on 75.0% of their free throw attempts. They give up 13.7 dimes and 33.4 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 210th and 114th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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