Ohio State vs Wisconsin Prediction 2/17/26 College Basketball Picks Today

The Wisconsin Badgers and the Ohio State Buckeyes meet Tuesday in college basketball action from Value City Arena in Columbus. Here’s an Ohio State vs Wisconsin prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Ohio State vs Wisconsin pick.

Wisconsin Badgers Betting Preview

Wisconsin managed a 9-5 record over their first 14 games of the season. The Badgers would then hit a win streak over UCLA, Michigan, Minnesota, Rutgers and Penn State. The next six games were a 4-2 run with wins over Minnesota, Ohio State, Illinois and Michigan State among losses to USC and Indiana. Over the first 25 games this season that gives the Badgers an 18-7 record in the books.

In the Michigan State game on Friday the Badgers were sitting in the locker room with a dominant 51-34 advantage. Wisconsin cruised the rest of the way on a 41-37 run and took the rousing victory on their home floor 92-71. Leading the team in scoring was Nicholas Boyd with 29 points, four assists and three rebounds. John Blackwell added 24 points with four rebounds and two assists.

Ohio State Buckeyes Betting Preview

Over on the Ohio State side, managed to win 10 of their first 13 games this year. The Buckeyes would hit a 3-3 run after that with losses to Nebraska, Washington and Michigan in that time. Next came a 3-2 stretch in the ensuing five games, featuring wins over Penn State, Maryland and USC. Over the first 24 games of the season that would give Ohio State a 16-8 record for their troubles.

Matched up against Virginia on Saturday the Buckeyes were right there going into the second half, posting a 37-37 tie. Ohio State was outscored 33-29 the rest of the way however, leading to a tough loss at home 70-66 by game’s end. Bruce Thornton was the team’s leading scorer on 28 points with four rebounds and Amare Bynum had 15 points with six rebounds in 33 minutes of action.

Why the Ohio State Buckeyes will win

• Ohio State has won each of its last 12 games at Value City Arena at Schottenstein Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Ohio State has won the first half in 35 of its last 39 games at Value City Arena at Schottenstein Center against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Why the Wisconsin Badgers will win

• Wisconsin has won 15 of its last 16 night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
• Wisconsin has won the first half in each of its last four games against Ohio State.

Ohio State vs Wisconsin Prediction

I’ll stick with Wisconsin. The Badgers are looking great right now; if they can keep things going like this into the postseason they’ll be a very difficult team to contend with. In the win over Michigan State on Friday, Wisconsin shot 48.4 percent from the field with a 28-14 edge on points in the paint and just six turnovers. The Badgers held a very good Spartans offense to just 36.4 percent shooting from the field. That makes a 4-1 run in the last five games and consecutive wins over top-10 ranked teams (Illinois and Michigan State) for the Badgers.

These teams last saw each other back on January 31 in a 92-82 home victory for Wisconsin. The Badgers shot 51.6 percent from the field and 90.5 percent (19-of-21) from the line along with a 42-30 edge in the paint and just five turnovers. Wisconsin will need every bit of that offensive prowess in the road rematch, and I think they’ll pull it off.