Northwestern vs. Penn State betting: College basketball preview for Jan. 29

Data Skrive
Data Skrive

The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-11, 0-9 Big Ten) visit the Northwestern Wildcats (9-11, 1-8 Big Ten) after losing five road games in a row. The Wildcats are favored by 7.5 points in the matchup, which begins at 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 29, 2026. The point total for the matchup is set at 148.5.

Check out all the Latest NCAA Basketball Betting Previews!

Spread

Northwestern Cover -7.5 vs Penn State -110

Bet $20, Payout $38.18

Northwestern vs. Penn State betting lines

  • Northwestern moneyline odds to win: -353
  • Penn State moneyline odds to win: +272
  • Spread: Northwestern (-7.5)
  • Total: 148.5

Northwestern statistics, trends and more

As the home team

  • In home games, Northwestern owns a worse record against the spread (3-7-0) compared to its ATS record on the road (3-3-0).
  • The Wildcats have exceeded the over/under less consistently at home, hitting the over in four of 10 home matchups (40%). On the road, they have hit the over in three of six games (50%).
  • As a moneyline favorite, Northwestern has taken six of eight games at home, good for a .750 winning percentage. It has won one of two games on the road (.500) as a moneyline favorite.

Recent trends

  • The Wildcats have been racking up 70.7 points per game in their last 10 times on the court, an average that’s a little lower than the 76.5 they’ve scored over the course of the 2025-26 campaign.
  • Northwestern has been less stingy on defense as of late, giving up 72.3 points per game during its past 10 outings compared to the 71.7 points per game its opponents are averaging on the 2025-26 season.
  • The Wildcats’ past 10 outings have seen them make 5.7 three-pointers per game while shooting 27.8% from beyond the arc. Both numbers are down from their 2025-26 averages of 6.2 makes and 30.9%.

Northwestern betting records this season

  • ATS Record: 7-13-0 (Home: 3-7-0; Away: 3-3-0)
  • ATS Record When Favored by 7.5+: 3-3-0 (As Favorite: 3-9-0; As Underdog: 4-4-0)
  • O-U-P: 10-10-0 (Home: 4-6-0; Away: 3-3-0)
  • Record When Moneyline Favorite: 8-4 (Home: 6-2; Away: 1-1)
  • Record When Moneyline Underdog: 1-7 (Home: 0-2; Away: 1-3)
Field Goal % Opp. Field Goal % Rebounds Opp. Rebounds Assists Turnovers
46.5 (117th in nation) 42.6 (111th) 29.9 (296th) 32.0 (231st) 17.8 (21st) 8.1 (second)

Need to know more about sports betting before you put down a wager on Northwestern vs. Penn State? Here’s everything you need to know about how to bet.

Penn State statistics, trends and more

As the away team

  • Penn State has been better against the spread on the road (3-2-0) than at home (4-8-0) this season.
  • Nittany Lions games have finished above the over/under less often at home (six times out of 12) than away (four of five) this season.
  • The Nittany Lions’ winning percentage at home when moneyline underdogs is .000, both at home (0-5) and on the road (0-4).

Recent trends

  • In their last 10 games, the Nittany Lions are averaging 71.2 points per game, 5.4 fewer points than their season average (76.6).
  • While Penn State is ceding 77.8 points per game in 2025-26, it has been worse over its past 10 games, allowing 81.2 points per contest.
  • Over their last 10 games, the Nittany Lions are making 8.5 threes per game, 0.7 more than their season average (7.8). However, they own a worse three-point percentage over their previous 10 games (30.7%) compared to their season average (33.3%).

Penn State betting records this season

  • ATS Record: 8-12-0 (Home: 4-8-0; Away: 3-2-0)
  • ATS Record When Underdog by 7.5+: 5-1-0 (As Favorite: 3-6-0; As Underdog: 5-6-0)
  • O-U-P: 11-9-0 (Home: 6-6-0; Away: 4-1-0)
  • Record When Moneyline Favorite: 9-1 (Home: 7-0; Away: 1-0)
  • Record When Moneyline Underdog: 0-10 (Home: 0-5; Away: 0-4)
Field Goal % Opp. Field Goal % Rebounds Opp. Rebounds Assists Turnovers
46.8 (98th in nation) 48.8 (355th) 27.9 (343rd) 30.5 (145th) 13.3 (240th) 9.2 (21st)
Author Profile
BetDecider Team

The BetDecider team brings you the most current sports betting content, with expert insights and tips. Our aim is that you can make an informed betting decision, including best odds and exclusive sportsbook offers, to maximize your betting experience.

Ryan Knuppel

Knup Solutions [molongui_author_name]

About Ryan Knuppel

Ryan has been one of the leading sports business & iGaming professionals for over 15 years. He started as a freelance writer and now operates one of the top sports content agencies around, Knup Solutions. He has literally written 10,000 plus sports and betting related articles across the web.

 

Sports Network:

sports20.com, usawager.com, knupsports.com, baseballspotlight.com, basketballarticles.com, betdecider.com, njsportsbookreview.com, dunkelindex.com, sportspub.com, oddschoice.com

 

Betting Guide

How Money Line Works?

Moneyline betting is by far the easiest way to place a sports wager. There are no point spreads to parse, no garbage-time free throws to ruin your betting day, and no last-minute meaningless touchdowns to take you from a winner to a loser.

How to Bet Odds

When we, as sports fans, learned our multiplication tables, we aced the number 7. Seven, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 were easy because we all watched football on the weekends. Multiplication by sevens, then add a three, a six after a missed PAT.

How to Bet on NFL Games

Baseball is America’s pastime, but football is America’s crazed passion, with its weekly schedule of games, millions of television viewers across the country and the world, and the billion-dollar stadiums that serve as Sunday cathedrals in 32 American cities.

What is the Spread?

If you are a golfer or have ever played on a bowling team, think of a point spread like a handicap. It is a way for two teams of differing abilities to play each other on equal footing.  The better team, and the favorite in the game, gives a certain amount …