Wisconsin Badgers vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 1/22/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Wisconsin Badgers vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Thursday, January 22, 2026

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: FS1

The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-8) are welcoming the Wisconsin Badgers (13-5) at Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday.

The Wisconsin Badgers faced off with Rutgers and earned the victory with a final of 96-87 in their last game. Wisconsin ended having earned a 48.3% field goal percentage (29 out of 60) and converted 12 of their 30 shots from beyond the arc. From the charity stripe, the Badgers knocked down 26 of their 29 attempts for a percentage of 89.7%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned 23 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 20 assists for this game while forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 6 steals. When it comes to the defense, Wisconsin allowed the other team to go 47.6% from the field on 30 of 63 shooting. Rutgers distributed 17 dimes and had 4 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Rutgers totaled 30 rebounds (10 offensive, 20 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Rutgers finished the game at 78.9% at the free throw line by making 15 of 19 shots. They also converted 12 out of their 30 attempts from beyond the arc. In regard to fouls, the Badgers ended up finishing with 19 and Rutgers totaled 24 fouls.

Nick Boyd is one guy who was a major factor for this game. He accounted for 32 points on 8 of 16 shooting. He played 32 mins played and pulled down 1 rebound. He finished shooting 50.0% from the floor and dished out 9 assists.

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Wisconsin steps onto the hardwood with a win-loss record of 13-5 this year. They currently have an average of 83.5 pts per contest (64th in college) while going 45.5% from the floor. The Badgers are hitting 34.4% on three-point shots (191 of 556) and 77.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Wisconsin is pulling down 36.7 rebounds per contest and has earned 287 dimes for the campaign, which is 103rd in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They turn the ball over 10.2 times per game and as a squad are committing 18.2 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Badgers are forcing 11.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.5 fouls. They currently rank 193rd in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 246 conceded for the year. The Badgers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.5% (481 of 1,082) and they concede 33.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They are surrendering 32.7% from beyond the arc and they rank 239th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (75.7).

For their last game, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a score of 96-73 when they played Maryland. The Nittany Lions were able to snag 16 defensive rebounds and 2 offensive rebounds totaling 18 in this matchup. They gave up possession 7 times, while recording 5 steals in the game. Maryland committed 17 fouls for the matchup which took the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for 21 tries. They were able to knock down 14 of those for a rate of 66.7%. In relation to shooting from 3-point land, Penn State knocked down 9 out of 24 tries (37.5%). When the final whistle was blown, the Nittany Lions finished shooting 25 out of 50 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 50.0%. The Nittany Lions permitted Maryland to make 33 of 61 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 54.1% in this game. They finished the game shooting 52.9% from 3-point land by going 18 of 34 and finished the contest at 12 out of 17 from the free throw line (70.6%). In regard to rebounding, Penn State allowed Maryland to pull down 34 in total (11 on the offensive glass).

Kayden Mingo ended up being a major contributor for the Nittany Lions in this contest. He made 7 of 12 in this contest for a rate of 58.3%, and added 3 rebounds. He scored 19 points in his 34 mins on the court and accumulated 5 dimes for this game.

Penn State has a win-loss mark of 9-8 for the season. As an offense, the Nittany Lions are shooting 47.2% from the floor, which is 88th in college. Penn State has 1,310 pts for the campaign (77.1 per contest) and they grab 31.0 rebounds per contest. They are assisting teammates 13.5 times per game (234th in college) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 9.4 times per game. The Nittany Lions are committing 15.5 fouls every game and they connect on 73.9% from the charity stripe.

The Nittany Lions are ranked 227th in college in PPG given up with 75.1. They are forcing their opponents into 13.2 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.9% from the field (341st in college). The Penn State defense concedes 36.2% on shots from beyond the perimeter (153 of 423) and opponents are converting on 76.9% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 15.8 dimes and 33.1 boards per contest, which is 322nd and 96th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Penn State

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