Nebraska vs. Northwestern Spread Pick 2/7/24

Nebraska Cornhuskers (16-7 SU, 12-8-1 ATS) vs. Northwestern Wildcats (15-7 SU, 9-9-2 ATS)

When: Wednesday, February 7th, 9:00 PM (ET)

Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena, IL, Evanston

TV: BTN

Point Spread: NEBR +4.5/NW -4.5

Total: 143

Money Line: Nebraska Cornhuskers +193/-244

Notable Injuries

Cornhuskers

• Jarron Coleman (Questionable) Undisclosed
• Ahron Ulis (Out) Suspension
• Henry Burt (Out) Undisclosed
• Ramel Lloyd Jr. (Out) Knee
• Blaise Keita (Out) Ankle
• Eli Rice (Questionable) Ankle

Wildcats

• Parker Strauss (Out) Undisclosed

Recent Form

Nebraska heads into tonight’s game against Northwestern as the underdog, as they have gone 3-5 in games where they are not favored this season. The Cornhuskers have struggled on the road this season, as they have gone just 2-5 away from home, and they have lost their last four games on the road.

Overall, Nebraska is 16-7 this season, and they are 5-5 in Big Ten play. The team’s average scoring margin on the road this season is -5.0, and they are coming off a 73-51 loss to Maryland.

Today’s over/under line of 143 is lower than the average over/under line in Nebraska’s games this year (147). So far, 15 of their games have finished with more points than today’s OU line. In their last three games, the over/under record is 2-1 and the average scoring total is 148 points.

Nebraska’s ATS record for the season is 12-8-1, but they have gone just 2-5 vs. the spread on the road. Over their last 10 games as the underdog, the Cornhuskers are 5-5.

Northwestern enters tonight’s game as the favorite once again, as they have been in 13 of their 22 games this season. So far, the Wildcats have gone 12-1 when favored, including a 9-1 record at home.

Speaking of their home record, Northwestern is 13-1 this season when playing in front of their home fans, and they have won their last six games at home. Over their last 10 games at home, the Wildcats have gone 9-1.

Northwestern’s over/under record for the season is 13-7 and the average scoring total in their games is 142.6 points. Today’s over/under line of 143 is higher than the average OU line in their games this year (136.7). Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 160 points and their over/under record during this stretch is 3-0. So far, 11 of their games have finished with more points than today’s OU line.

As the favorite this season, Northwestern has gone 6-5-2 vs. the spread. Over their last 10 games as the favorite, the Wildcats are 5-4-1 ATS. At home, Northwestern has an ATS mark of 8-5-1 this year, and they have gone 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games at home.

Analysis

Coming off their recent game, the Nebraska offense tallied 51 points in a matchup against Maryland. Their field goal percentage for the game was 39.5%, and they made 10 threes. Currently leading the team in scoring is Brice Williams, who comes into today’s matchup averaging 13. Rienk Mast also heads into the game with a PPG average of 14.

At present, the Cornhuskers’ defense is nationally ranked 141st, allowing 71.0 points per game. Against Maryland, the Cornhuskers’ defense gave up 73 points and did a good job not fouling. For the game, Maryland only made 10 free-throws.

Coming off their recent game, the Northwestern offense tallied 83 points in a matchup against Ohio State. Their field goal percentage for the game was 57.7%, and they made 10 threes. Boo Buie led the team in scoring, putting up 19 points. Additionally, Ryan Langborg contributed 14 points for the Wildcats.

Coming into today’s game, the Northwestern defense is giving up an average of 70.1 points per contest. Northwestern’s three-point defense is currently 130th in the country at 7.2 made threes per game. In terms of overall field goal percentage, opponets have hit 45.1% of their shots vs. Northwestern.

Betting Trends

• When looking at their past ten road matchups, Nebraska has an ATS record of 5-5 while averaging 73 per game. The team went 4-6 overall in these games.
• Although Northwestern has a straight up record of 0-3 in their last three home games, they have not held up as well vs the spread going 1-2. The team averaged 77 points per game in these games.
• Spanning across their last five games as the betting underdog, the Cornhuskers have gone 2-3 vs the spread. Their overall record in these games was 1-4.
• Over the team’s last five games as the favorite, the Wildcats struggled vs the spread going just 2-3. However, they still had a straight up mark of 4-1.

Rich Crew’s Pick To Cover The Spread

Northwester won seven straight before falling to Nebraska on the road by 6 back in January. They switch venues to Welsh-Ryan Arena where the host is 11-1 overall. The Wildcats are 5-0 at home and 4-1 ATS in Big Ten conference play with their lone loss coming against Purdue in Overtime. Take Northwestern -4.5