Purdue Boilermakers vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, 1/3/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Purdue Boilermakers vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date: Saturday, January 3, 2026

Location: Kohl Center in Madison, WI

TV: ESPN+

The Wisconsin Badgers (9-4) will compete against the Purdue Boilermakers (12-1) at Kohl Center on Saturday.

The Purdue Boilermakers faced off with Kent State and went home with a win by a final score of 101-60 in their last contest. In reference to personal fouls, the Boilermakers walked away with 14 while Kent State totaled 21 personal fouls. They also converted 7 out of their 27 shots from beyond the arc. Kent State walked away from this one shooting 78.6% from the free throw line by burying 11 of 14 shots. Moreover, Kent State grabbed 27 rebounds (6 offensive, 21 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Kent State earned 13 assists and had 5 steals for the game. When discussing defense, Purdue allowed their opponent to shoot 34.4% from the field on 21 of 61 shooting. They also doled out 25 dimes for the matchup while forcing the opposition into 14 turnovers and getting 10 steals. In relation to rebounding, they compiled 39 with 6 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Boilermakers buried 17 of 19 attempts for a percentage of 89.5%. Purdue finished having earned a 56.3% FG percentage (36 out of 64) and made 12 of their 31 three-point shots.

Jack Benter is a guy who came through for the matchup. He accumulated 20 points on 7 of 7 shooting. He played for 16 minutes and snagged 5 rebounds. He ended up shooting 100.0% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Purdue heads into this contest with a win-loss record of 12-1 this year. They are averaging 86.2 points per game (54th in college hoops) while hitting 51.4% from the field. The Boilermakers are shooting 39.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (127 of 318) and 76.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Purdue is grabbing 40.0 boards per game and has earned 270 assists for the season, which is 12th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They cough up possession 10.2 times per game and as a team are committing 14.2 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Boilermakers are forcing 10.8 turnovers every game and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 161st in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 177 relinquished on the season. The Boilermakers are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 39.6% (316 of 797) and they surrender 28.5 boards per contest as a team. They surrender 30.3% on shots from distance and they are 34th in D-1 in points per game allowed (66.0).

The last time they took the court, the Wisconsin Badgers went home victorious with a score of 80-60 against Milwaukee. The Badgers were able to pull down 30 defensive boards and 6 offensive boards for a total of 36 for this contest. They turned it over 9 times, while recording 5 steals in this contest. Milwaukee committed 23 fouls for the contest which got the Badgers to the charity stripe for a total of 32 attempts. They were able to bury 20 of the free throws for a percentage of 62.5%. Regarding shots from 3-point land, Wisconsin buried 4 of 22 tries (18.2%). When the game finished, the Badgers finished shooting 28 out of 57 from the field which had them sitting at 49.1%. The Badgers allowed Milwaukee to knock down 21 of their 63 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 33.3% in this matchup. They shot 13.6% from 3-point land by going 3 out of 22 and ended up shooting 15 out of 21 from the free throw line (71.4%). In the matter of team rebounding, Wisconsin allowed Milwaukee to get 37 in total (12 on the offensive side).

Nick Boyd pitched in for the Badgers for the matchup. He knocked down 5 out of 7 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 71.4%, and tallied 3 rebounds. He recorded 16 points in his 22 mins on the court and had 2 dimes for the matchup.

Wisconsin has a win-loss mark of 9-4 on the season. The Badgers commit 18.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 76.1% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 16.4 times per contest (92nd in Division 1) and they turn it over 10.6 times per contest. Wisconsin has totaled 1,085 points for the campaign (83.5 per game) and they pull down 38.2 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Badgers are hitting on 45.2% from the floor, which is ranked 208th in college.

The Wisconsin defense gives up 33.4% on shots from distance (102 of 305) and their opponents are knocking down 71.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 12.7 assists and 33.7 boards every game, which is 135th and 143rd in college hoops. The Badgers are ranked 178th in college in PPG given up with 73.2. They have forced 12.1 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.2% from the floor (171st in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Purdue

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