Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 3/10/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2026

Location: United Center in Chicago, IL

TV: Peacock

United Center is the location where the Northwestern Wildcats (13-18) will go up against the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-19) on Tuesday in the Big Ten Tournament.

The Penn State Nittany Lions played Rutgers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 74-62 in their last contest. Penn State finished having earned a 41.1% field goal percentage (23 out of 56) and converted 3 out of their 22 3-point attempts. At the free throw line, the Nittany Lions buried 13 of their 22 shots for a percentage of 59.1%. Concerning hauling in rebounds, they compiled 34 with 5 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 11 dimes in this matchup while creating 6 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Concerning defense, Penn State allowed their opponent to shoot 44.3% from the floor on 27 out of 61 shooting. Rutgers earned 16 assists and had 5 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Rutgers collected 35 rebounds (6 offensive, 29 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Rutgers ended up going 82.4% at the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of their 17 attempts. They also converted 6 of 19 tries from long range. In regard to personal fouls, the Nittany Lions left the arena with 16 while Rutgers finished the game with 17 personal fouls.

Ivan Juric is one guy who played a role for the game. He ended up shooting 50.0% from the field and recorded 1 assist. He saw the court for 29 mins played and also totaled 6 boards. He ended up walking away with 16 points on 5 out of 10 shooting.

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Penn State will enter this game with a mark of 12-19 on the season. They lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per contest and as a team they commit 15.5 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Penn State is pulling down 29.2 rebounds per contest and has tallied 388 dimes on the campaign, which ranks 295th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Nittany Lions are shooting 32.1% on shots from downtown (214 of 667) and 74.9% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 73.9 pts per contest (235th in college hoops) while shooting 46.7% from the field.

On defense, the Nittany Lions are forcing their opponents into 12.1 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.9 fouls. They are currently ranked 350th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 535 surrendered this year. The Nittany Lions defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 50.0% (893 of 1,787) and they relinquish 33.3 rebounds per game as a team. They are relinquishing 39.1% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 318th in college hoops in PPG allowed (79.5).

The last time they took the court, the Northwestern Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 67-66 when they played Minnesota. The Wildcats collected 15 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 26 for this game. They turned it over 7 times, while getting 3 steals in this game. Minnesota earned 11 fouls for the matchup which got the Wildcats to the free throw line for a total of 14 tries. They were able to convert 12 of the free throws for a percentage of 85.7%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, Northwestern made 8 out of their 23 attempts (34.8%). When the game finished, the Wildcats went 23 for 53 from the floor which had them shooting 43.4%. The Wildcats allowed Minnesota to make 24 of their 44 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 54.5% in the game. They finished 35.3% from downtown by shooting 6 out of 17 and ended up going 13 out of 16 from the charity stripe (81.3%). In reference to how they attacked the glass, Northwestern allowed Minnesota to collect 22 in all (4 offensive).

Nick Martinelli ended up having an impact for the Wildcats in the game. He scored 23 points in his 39 mins on the court and had 1 assist in this matchup. He made 9 of 18 for the game giving him a rate of 50.0%, and had 9 rebounds.

Northwestern has a record of 13-18 so far this year. As an offense, the Wildcats are shooting 45.7% from the floor, which is 158th in the nation. Northwestern has totaled 2,269 pts so far this year (73.2 per game) and they pull down 30.9 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 17.0 times per game (33rd in college) and they are giving up possession 8.6 times per contest. The Wildcats commit 17.2 fouls per contest and they shoot 75.1% from the free throw line.

The Northwestern defense concedes 33.1% on shots from distance (236 of 714) and opponents are connecting on 74.1% of their free throw shots. They have given up 15.7 assists and 35.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is 322nd and 238th in college. The Wildcats on defense are ranked 131st in college in points allowed per contest with 72.2. They are able to force 11.5 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.9% from the floor (160th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northwestern

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