Washington Huskies vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 1/31/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Washington Huskies vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Saturday, January 31, 2026

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Northwestern Wildcats (9-11) will go up against the Washington Huskies (11-9) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Saturday.

The Washington Huskies faced Oregon and walked away with a win by a score of 72-57 in their last contest. Washington finished the game having earned a 41.5% field goal percentage (27 out of 65) and converted 10 out of their 21 3-point attempts. When they shot from the free throw line, the Huskies converted 8 of their 13 attempts for a rate of 61.5%. In the matter of grabbing rebounds, they compiled 42 with 18 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 15 assists for the contest while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and earning 10 steals. Regarding defense, Washington allowed their opponent to shoot 35.7% from the floor on 15 out of 42 shooting. Oregon doled out 4 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. Moreover, Oregon collected 23 rebounds (1 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Oregon finished 85.7% from the charity stripe by making 24 of 28 attempts. They also converted 3 of their 15 shots from distance. In reference to personal fouls, the Huskies ended up walking away with 18 while Oregon finished the game with 12 personal fouls.

Jacob Ognacevic is one guy who came through in this matchup. He ended up shooting 80.0% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. He saw the court for 24 mins and also snagged 2 boards. He notched 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting.

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Washington enters this game with a win-loss record of 11-9 so far this year. They turn it over 10.6 times per game and as a unit they commit 17.3 fouls per game. As a unit, Washington is pulling down 38.3 boards per game and has accumulated 278 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 240th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Huskies are connecting on 31.4% on shots from beyond the arc (133 of 423) and 77.1% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 79.0 points per game (130th in college) while hitting 44.9% from the field.

Defensively, the Huskies are forcing 10.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.9 personal fouls. They are giving up 31.7% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 177th in college hoops in opponents points per game (73.3). The Huskies defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.3% (521 of 1,203) and they relinquish 33.5 rebounds per contest as a squad. They are ranked 108th in the nation in giving up assists with 260 surrendered on the season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Northwestern Wildcats walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 71-64 when they played UCLA. The Wildcats were able to collect 21 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 for the matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 9 times, while earning 3 steals for the contest. UCLA had 13 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to knock down 17 of the free throw tries for a clip of 85.0%. When it comes to 3-point shots, Northwestern converted 7 of their 23 attempts (30.4%). When the final whistle was blown, the Wildcats shot 20 for 53 from the field which had them sitting at 37.7%. The Wildcats allowed UCLA to convert 26 out of their 53 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 49.1% for this game. They finished 44.4% from beyond the perimeter by going 8 of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 11 of 21 at the free throw line (52.4%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Northwestern permitted UCLA to snag 29 overall (7 offensive).

Nick Martinelli ended up being a major contributor for the Wildcats for the contest. He earned 20 points in his 37 mins on the court and accumulated 2 dimes for the matchup. He buried 8 out of 19 for the contest for a rate of 42.1%, and accumulated 8 rebounds.

Northwestern has a win-loss mark of 9-11 this season. As an offensive unit, the Wildcats are connecting on 46.5% from the floor, which ranks 118th in the nation. Northwestern has accounted for 1,530 points on the year (76.5 per game) and they snag 33.1 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 17.8 times per contest (21st in D-1) and they are turning it over 8.4 times per game. The Wildcats commit 18.2 personal fouls every game and they shoot 74.5% from the free throw line.

The Wildcats are ranked 128th in D-1 in PPG given up with 71.7. They are forcing their opponents into 11.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.6% from the floor (120th in D-1). The Northwestern defense concedes 30.6% from downtown (139 of 454) and their opponents are knocking down 71.9% of their foul shots. They allow 14.9 assists and 35.2 rebounds on a nightly basis, ranking them 290th and 217th in Division 1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Washington

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