Northwestern Wildcats vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, 1/20/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Date: Saturday, January 20, 2024

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE

TV: BTN

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (13-5) are hosting the Northwestern Wildcats (13-4) at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Saturday.

The Northwestern Wildcats faced Maryland and went home with a win by a final score of 72-69 in their last contest. In reference to fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 18 while Maryland accumulated 21 fouls. They also buried 6 of their 17 attempts from downtown. Maryland finished the game at 72.2% at the free throw line by making 13 of their 18 shots. On top of that, Maryland totaled 26 boards (5 offensive, 21 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Maryland earned 12 dimes and had 3 steals in this contest. Pertaining to defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 52.1% from the field on 25 of 48 shooting. They also doled out 15 assists in this game while forcing the other team into 13 turnovers and getting 10 steals. Regarding pulling down boards, they earned 29 with 10 of them being of the offensive sort. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Wildcats made 18 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 81.8%. Northwestern ended having earned a 43.6% field goal percentage (24 of 55) and made 6 out of their 21 3-pointers.

Boo Buie is one player who was a major factor for the game. He went 50.0% from the field and earned 7 assists. He saw the court for 37 minutes and also grabbed 4 rebounds. He left the arena with 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

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Northwestern steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 13-4 for the season. They are averaging 72.9 points per game (236th in Division 1) while going 46.8% from the floor. The Wildcats are shooting 36.6% on shots beyond the perimeter (130 of 355) and 73.1% from the charity stripe. As a team, Northwestern is snagging 30.4 boards per contest and has accounted for 275 assists so far this year, which has them ranked 57th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 9.3 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 17.5 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats have forced 13.8 turnovers per game while drawing 16.4 fouls. They give up 35.1% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 79th in D-1 in PPG allowed (67.0). The Wildcats defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 44.5% (389 of 875) and they surrender 32.5 boards per game as a group. They are ranked 175th in D-1 in giving up assists with 217 conceded on the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Nebraska Cornhuskers went home defeated by a final of 87-82 against Rutgers. The Cornhuskers earned 29 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 for the matchup. They also turned it over 13 times, while getting 8 steals in this matchup. Rutgers committed 17 fouls in this matchup which got the Cornhuskers to the free throw line for a total of 24 attempts. They were able to make 19 of them for a percentage of 79.2%. When talking about three-point attempts, Nebraska knocked down 13 of 35 tries (37.1%). When the final whistle blew, the Cornhuskers went 25 out of 66 from the field which gave them a rate of 37.9%. The Cornhuskers permitted Rutgers to make 30 out of their 78 attempts from the field which had them shooting 38.5% in the game. They shot 37.9% from 3-point land via 11 of 29 and ended up shooting 16 of 30 from the free throw line (53.3%). In relation to attacking the glass, Nebraska allowed Rutgers to pull down 46 in total (20 on the offensive glass).

Brice Williams ended up being a factor for the Cornhuskers for the matchup. He made 6 of 13 for this game for a rate of 46.2%, and accounted for 6 rebounds. He had 22 points in his 39 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 2 dimes for this game.

Nebraska has a mark of 13-5 this season. As an offensive team, the Cornhuskers are shooting 44.6% from the field, which is ranked 191st in the nation. Nebraska has scored 1,413 points for the year (78.5 per contest) and they collect 39.2 rebounds per game. They are getting an assist 15.9 times per contest (49th in the nation) and they turn it over 10.9 times per contest. The Cornhuskers are responsible for committing 15.1 personal fouls per contest and they hit 75.5% from the charity stripe.

The Cornhuskers on the defensive side of the court are 140th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 70.1. They are forcing 11.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 39.9% from the floor (37th in the nation). The Nebraska defense gives up 32.6% on shots from distance (154 of 472) and opponents are knocking down 69.7% of their foul shots. They relinquish 13.0 assists and 37.1 rebounds every game, which is 200th and 281st in college basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Northwestern

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