Penn State vs Wisconsin Prediction 1/22/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The Wisconsin Badgers and the Penn State Nittany Lions meet Thursday in college basketball action from Bryce Jordan Center. Here’s a Penn State vs Wisconsin prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Penn State vs Wisconsin pick.

Wisconsin Badgers Betting Preview

The Badgers were able to win their first four games of the season, but then hit a rough 4-3 stretch that contained losses to BYU, TCU, Nebraska and Villanova. Wisconsin has since gone a solid 6-1 though, taking out Central Michigan, Milwaukee, UCLA, Michigan, Minnesota and Rutgers in that time. Over the first 18 games of the year that gives the Badgers a 13-5 overall record in the books so far.

In the Rutgers matchup over the weekend the Badgers were in the locker room with a 51-29 edge. Wisconsin got outscored 58-45 the rest of the way but still held on for the 96-87 win in the end at home. Topping the scores was Nicholas Boyd with 32 points, nine assists and one rebound. John Blackwell added 19 points with five rebounds and three assists while Nolan Winter had 18 points and five boards.

Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Preview

Over on the Penn State side, they opened up the season on an 8-1 run, losing to only Providence in that time. The Nittany Lions have been on a skid since then, going just 1-8 with losses to Indiana, Michigan State, Pitt, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, UCLA and Maryland. The lone win was over NC Central, giving Penn State a rough 9-9 overall record through their first 18 games of the year.

In their latest matchup on Sunday versus Maryland, the Lions were demolished in the first half 56-26. Penn State got slightly better from there on a 47-40 run in the second half but eventually lost 96-73. Tops in scoring was Kayden Mingo with 19 points, five assists and three rebounds while dominick Stewart had 17 points with four rebounds and four assists in the losing effort for Penn State.

Why the Penn State Nittany Lions will win

• Penn State has won six of its last eight night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• The home team has won the first half in each of Wisconsin’s last four games.

Why the Wisconsin Badgers will win

• Penn State has lost each of its last seven games against Conference opponents.
• Wisconsin has won 13 of its last 14 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Wisconsin has won the first half in eight of its last nine road games against Penn State.

Penn State vs Wisconsin Prediction

I’ll stay with the Badgers. Wisconsin got past a middling Rutgers team without too much difficulty in their last outing, shooting a healthy 48.3 percent from the field with 40 percent (12-of-30) from outside and 89.7 percent (26-of-29) from the line and just nine turnovers. Wisconsin had a 32-24 advantage on points in the paint but did get outmuscled on the boards 30-23 along the way. Outside of the 47.6 percent shooting allowed on defense, there’s not much else to complain about. Wisconsin has won four straight games and six of their last seven. The Badgers have 73 or more points in all seven of those games and 78 or more in all six of the wins.

As for Penn State, they shot very well (50 percent) in the Maryland loss and had just seven turnovers with a 28-26 advantage in the paint. Unfortunately, the Lions gave up 54.1 percent shooting on the other side and got out-rebounded 34-18. That makes five straight losses for Penn State, and they’ve given up 71 or more points in all five of them.