UCLA Bruins vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, 1/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UCLA Bruins vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Location: Kohl Center in Madison, WI

TV: ESPN+

The Wisconsin Badgers (9-5) welcome the UCLA Bruins (10-4) at Kohl Center on Tuesday.

The UCLA Bruins faced Iowa and went home with a loss by a final score of 74-61 in their last game. UCLA ended with a 44.6% field goal percentage (25 out of 56) and converted 3 of their 14 3-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Bruins buried 8 of 12 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 24 with 9 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 13 assists in the game as well as forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and earning 11 steals. In terms of the defense, UCLA allowed the other team to shoot 46.8% from the floor on 22 of 47 shooting. Iowa distributed 11 assists and had 7 steals in this game. Additionally, Iowa snagged 30 rebounds (11 offensive, 19 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Iowa walked away from this one shooting 84.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 22 of 26 shots. They converted 8 out of their 26 shots from 3-point range. With respect to fouls, the Bruins finished with 23 and Iowa recorded 17 fouls.

Donovan Dent is a guy who played a role in the matchup. He finished 63.2% from the field and earned 5 assists. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He finished with 25 points on 12 of 19 shooting.

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UCLA will enter this contest with a mark of 10-4 for the campaign. They turn it over 10.4 times per contest and as a unit are committing 17.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, UCLA is grabbing 32.6 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 228 assists so far this year, which is 127th in the nation in terms of passing. The Bruins are shooting 38.8% from downtown (108 of 278) and 75.9% from the free throw line. They are averaging 80.2 points per game (125th in college hoops) while hitting 48.6% from the field.

Defensively, the Bruins are forcing 14.5 turnovers per game and they draw 19.4 personal fouls. They are giving up 30.9% on shots from distance and they are ranked 90th in the nation in PPG allowed (69.3). The Bruins are giving up a shooting percentage of 42.5% (327 of 769) and they surrender 31.9 rebounds per game as a team. They are currently ranked 174th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 194 relinquished for the year.

In their last game, the Wisconsin Badgers took a defeat with a final score of 89-73 when they played Purdue. In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Wisconsin permitted Purdue to collect 32 in total (11 offensive). They finished the game shooting 37.0% from 3-point land by shooting 10 out of 27 and walked away from this one shooting 13 out of 19 from the free throw line (68.4%). The Badgers allowed Purdue to convert 33 out of 71 tries from the floor which had them at 46.5% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Badgers shot 24 out of 57 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.1%. In the matter of shooting from downtown, Wisconsin converted 4 of their 25 attempts (16.0%). They were able to bury 21 of those for a clip of 80.8%. Purdue committed 18 fouls for the matchup which got the Badgers to the free throw line for 26 attempts. They also turned it over 11 times, while earning 7 steals in this matchup. The Badgers were able to corral 28 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 35 for this game.

Nick Boyd was important for the Badgers in this contest. He made 7 of 13 for the game for a field goal rate of 53.8%, and accounted for 6 rebounds. He accumulated 24 points in his 33 minutes on the court and had 2 assists for this contest.

Wisconsin has a mark of 9-5 this season. The Badgers are responsible for committing 17.9 fouls every game and they shoot 76.5% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 15.7 times per game (113th in the nation) and they are giving up possession 10.6 times per game. Wisconsin has earned 1,158 points so far this season (82.7 per game) and they grab 38.3 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Badgers are shooting 45.0% from the floor, which ranks them 214th in college.

The Wisconsin defense allows 33.7% from downtown (112 of 332) and opponents are converting on 71.1% of their foul shots. They surrender 13.4 dimes and 33.9 boards per game, which ranks them 191st and 151st in the country. The Badgers on the defensive end are ranked 211th in D-1 in points given up per game with 74.3. They are able to force 11.7 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 43.5% from the floor (186th in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCLA

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