Wisconsin Badgers vs Ohio State Buckeyes Prediction, 2/17/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Date: Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Location: Value City Arena in Columbus, OH

TV: ESPN+

The Ohio State Buckeyes (16-9) will try to defeat the Wisconsin Badgers (18-7) at Value City Arena on Tuesday.

The Wisconsin Badgers faced off with Michigan State and took home the win by a score of 92-71 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Badgers walked away with 15 while Michigan State recorded 18 personal fouls. They also made 8 of their 27 shots from distance. Michigan State ended up shooting 93.8% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of 16 attempts. Additionally, Michigan State collected 35 rebounds (12 offensive, 23 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Michigan State earned 13 assists and had 4 steals for the game. When talking about the defense, Wisconsin allowed the other team to shoot 36.4% from the field on 24 out of 66 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists in this game as well as forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 6 steals. In regard to hauling in boards, they compiled 34 with 11 of them being of the offensive variety. At the free throw line, the Badgers made 17 of 23 tries for a percentage of 73.9%. Wisconsin finished with a 48.4% field goal percentage (30 of 62) and made 15 of 35 shots from downtown.

Nick Boyd is one guy who was important for the matchup. He finished the game shooting 58.8% from the floor and also dished out 4 assists. He played 32 mins played and also pulled down 3 boards. He recorded 29 points on 10 out of 17 shooting.

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Wisconsin will enter this matchup with a record of 18-7 so far this season. They currently have an average of 83.7 pts per contest (37th in college) while connecting on 45.0% from the floor. The Badgers are shooting 35.4% on 3-pointers (280 of 792) and 77.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Wisconsin is grabbing 36.8 boards per contest and has accumulated 396 assists this season, which ranks 103rd in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 9.2 times per contest and as a team are committing 17.6 fouls every game.

On defense, the Badgers are able to force 10.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.5 personal fouls. They concede 32.9% on three-point shots and they are ranked 233rd in D-1 in points per game allowed (75.6). The Badgers are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 44.0% (666 of 1,515) and they relinquish 34.3 rebounds per game as a squad. They currently rank 120th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 328 conceded so far this year.

In their last game, the Ohio State Buckeyes took a defeat with a final score of 70-66 against Virginia. The Buckeyes were able to snag 19 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 24 in this matchup. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while earning 5 steals for this game. Virginia was called for 12 fouls in the matchup which took the Buckeyes to the free throw line for 9 tries. They were able to convert 6 of them for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Ohio State knocked down 6 of 14 attempts (42.9%). When this game wrapped up, the Buckeyes shot 27 out of 60 from the floor which had them at 45.0%. The Buckeyes allowed Virginia to convert 21 of 49 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 42.9% in this game. They finished 33.3% from distance by shooting 6 out of 18 and finished the game at 22 of 32 from the charity stripe (68.8%). Regarding rebounding, Ohio State allowed Virginia to snag 36 overall (10 offensive).

Bruce Thornton ended up being a factor for the Buckeyes for the game. He made 12 of 21 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and accounted for 4 rebounds. He recorded 28 points in his 38 mins of playing time and added 1 assist for this contest.

Ohio State has a record of 16-9 this year. The Buckeyes are committing 17.9 fouls every game and they shoot 78.6% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.7 times per contest (135th in college) and they turn it over 10.6 times per game. Ohio State has accounted for 2,024 pts for the year (81.0 per contest) and they pull in 34.6 boards per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Buckeyes are shooting 48.8% from the field, which ranks them 30th in the nation.

The Ohio State defense allows 31.1% on three-point shots (187 of 602) and their opponents are connecting on 73.9% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 13.1 assists and 32.3 boards every game, which ranks them 154th and 60th in college hoops. The Buckeyes defensively are ranked 178th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 73.6. They are able to force 11.0 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (120th in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Ohio State

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