The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (11-5, 3-2 Big Ten) and Northwestern Wildcats (12-3, 3-1) meet Wednesday. Opening tip at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston will be at 9 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Rutgers vs. Northwestern odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rutgers had a 5-game straight up and against the spread (ATS) win streak busted Sunday with a 76-65 loss to Iowa as a 5-point favorite. The Hawkeyes shot 44.6% from the field in that game; RU had held foes to a 36.4% mark over its previous 6 games. The Knights now hit the road for just the 2nd time since Dec. 8.
The Wildcats upset Indiana as 6.5-point underdogs Sunday. Northwestern was a plus-9 in turnover margin (its 8th straight plus game) in an 84-83 win at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. G Boo Buie registered a 26-point game and has averaged 16.4 points per game over his last 8.
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Rutgers at Northwestern odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 2:02 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline: Rutgers -115 (bet $115 to win $100) | Northwestern -105 (bet $100 to win $105)
- Against the spread (ATS): Rutgers -1.5 (-105) | Northwestern +1.5 (-115)
- Over/Under (O/U): 126.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Rutgers at Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Rutgers 59, Northwestern 57
Moneyline
Figure Northwestern as just a sliver of a lean. A price north of +100 would be required to have any value. AVOID.
Against the spread
In this series, Rutgers has won 3 in a row ATS. But peg the pricing on the sides as being quite accurate. Move along to where there is value, on the total. PASS.
Over/Under
The Under is: 5-0 in the Scarlet Knights’ last 5 road games … 5-1 in Scarlet RU’s last 6 games against team’s playing .600 basketball … 14-3 in the Wildcats’ last 17 home games … 4-2 in the last 6 RU-NU games.
These 2 teams rank 1-2 in the Big Ten in scoring defense. Rutgers has allowed just 56.2 PPG (4th NCAA-I) while Northwestern has yielded 58.9 PPG (13th). Both play at a deliberate pace, and the match-up has few score-spiral-effect factors at play.
BACK THE UNDER 126.5 (-105).
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