Oregon Ducks vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 2/28/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oregon Ducks vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, February 28, 2026

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Northwestern Wildcats (12-16) will try to defeat the Oregon Ducks (11-17) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday.

The Oregon Ducks stepped onto the hardwood against Wisconsin and went home with a win by a final score of 85-71 in their last game. When talking about fouls, the Ducks ended up walking away with 11 while Wisconsin finished the game with 18 fouls. They also converted 14 of 45 attempts from downtown. Wisconsin finished 81.3% at the charity stripe by converting 13 of 16 shots. On top of that, Wisconsin grabbed 34 boards (12 offensive, 22 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Wisconsin distributed 17 assists and had 4 steals in this game. In regard to defense, Oregon allowed their opponent to shoot 33.3% from the floor on 22 of 66 shooting. They also distributed 19 dimes for the matchup in addition to forcing 12 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In regard to pulling down boards, they collected 32 with 4 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Ducks buried 20 of their 25 shots for a percentage of 80.0%. Oregon finished the contest having earned a 51.9% field goal percentage (28 of 54) and made 9 of 19 3-pointers.

Nathan Bittle is one guy who was important in this contest. He finished the game at 43.8% from the field and also totaled 5 dimes. He was on the court for 37 mins played and grabbed 6 boards. He racked up 20 points on 7 of 16 shooting.

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Oregon enters this game with a win-loss mark of 11-17 this season. They are averaging 71.6 points per contest (283rd in the country) while shooting 43.0% from the floor. The Ducks are connecting on 32.5% on shots beyond the perimeter (223 of 687) and 72.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Oregon is grabbing 34.7 rebounds per game and has accounted for 396 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 200th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 12.0 times per game and as a team are committing 15.9 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Ducks are forcing 10.7 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.1 fouls. They are conceding 34.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 194th in college in points per game allowed (74.1). The Ducks are allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 44.0% (713 of 1,621) and they concede 34.0 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 167th in the country in giving up assists with 378 surrendered for the campaign.

When they last stepped on the court, the Northwestern Wildcats took home the win by a final score of 72-68 when they played Indiana. In regard to cleaning up the glass, Northwestern permitted Indiana to get 16 in all (2 on the offensive glass). They shot 35.7% from downtown by connecting on 10 of 28 and ended up shooting 12 of 14 from the free throw line (85.7%). The Wildcats permitted Indiana to knock down 23 of 50 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 46.0% in this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Wildcats went 26 out of 54 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 48.1%. In reference to shots from 3-point land, Northwestern buried 6 out of their 13 attempts (46.2%). They were able to convert 14 of those for a percentage of 77.8%. Indiana was called for 16 fouls in this contest which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 18 tries. They also gave up possession of the ball 8 times, while getting 4 steals for this contest. The Wildcats pulled down 21 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive rebounds totaling 27 in the game.

Nick Martinelli was important for the Wildcats in this matchup. He recorded 28 points in his 39 mins on the court and accounted for 3 dimes for this game. He converted 12 out of 21 for this contest for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and had 5 rebounds.

Northwestern has a mark of 12-16 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are hitting on 45.7% from the field, which is 156th in the country. Northwestern has accumulated 2,074 points on the season (74.1 per contest) and they pull in 31.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 17.1 times per contest (33rd in college hoops) and they turn it over 8.6 times per contest. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 17.5 fouls every game and they connect on 74.5% from the charity stripe.

The Wildcats are ranked 150th in Division 1 in PPG surrendered with 72.9. They are able to force 11.3 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 43.5% from the field (139th in Division 1). The Northwestern defense allows 32.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (214 of 654) and their opponents are converting on 73.7% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 15.5 assists and 35.7 total rebounds per game, which ranks 313th and 263rd in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oregon

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