Northwestern vs. Rutgers Dunkel Predictions & Vegas Odds - Jan. 11

The Northwestern Wildcats (8-7, 0-5 Big Ten) visit the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (8-8, 2-4 Big Ten) at Jersey Mike's Arena, starting at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, January 11, 2026. The Scarlet Knights are 4.5-point underdogs in the game. The point total in the matchup is set at 144.5.

In its last outing on Thursday, Northwestern suffered a 76-66 loss to Michigan State. Nick Martinelli scored a team-best 28 points for Northwestern in the loss. Rutgers' last outing on Thursday ended in an 81-55 loss to Illinois. Kaden Powers scored 12 points in Rutgers' loss, leading the team.

Northwestern vs. Rutgers Odds and Game Time

• When: Sunday, January 11, 2026 at 5 p.m. ET
• Where: Jersey Mike's Arena in Piscataway, New Jersey
• Spread favorite: Northwestern -4.5
• Moneyline favorite: Northwestern -199
• Moneyline underdog: Rutgers +165
• Over/Under: 144.5 points

How to watch Northwestern vs. Rutgers

• TV Channel: Peacock
• Check out the rest of our Dunkel Index NCAA Basketball Picks!

Betting the Over/Under: Northwestern vs. Rutgers

• This season, Northwestern's games have hit the over on this matchup's 144.5-point over/under 10 times.
• Eight of Rutgers' games have finished with a combined score higher than 144.5 points this season.
• The Wildcats average 79.4 points per game against the Scarlet Knights' 69.3, amounting to 4.2 points over the game's point total of 144.5.
• The 143.9 points per game these two teams allow to opponents combined this season are 0.6 less than the 144.5-point total in this contest.
• On average, Northwestern has seen a 150.2-point over/under in its games this season, 5.7 more points than the over/under in this contest.
• The over/under for this matchup is 2.1 points more than the average over/under in Rutgers' games this season (142.4 points).

Betting the Spread: Northwestern vs. Rutgers

• In Northwestern's 15 games this season, it has five wins against the spread.
• The Wildcats have been favored by 4.5 points or more nine times this season and are 3-6 ATS in those games.
• Against the spread, Rutgers is 5-11-0 this season.
• The Scarlet Knights have an against the spread record of 4-5 in their nine games as an underdog of 4.5 points or more this year.
• Rutgers is 7-3 overall, and 3-7 against the spread, at home.
• Rutgers has one win ATS (1-6) as a 4.5-point underdog or greater at home.
• Northwestern is 1-2 overall, with just one win against the spread, away from home.
• Northwestern is winless ATS (0-1) as 4.5-point favorites or more away from home.

Betting the Moneyline: Northwestern vs. Rutgers

• This season, Northwestern has won eight out of the 11 games, or 72.7%, in which it has been the moneyline favorite.
• The Wildcats have a record of 8-1, a 88.9% win rate, when favored by -199 or more by oddsmakers this season.
• The sportsbooks' moneyline implies a 66.6% chance of a victory for Northwestern.
• Rutgers has been a moneyline underdog in nine games this season and has come away with the win two times (22.2%) in those contests.
• This year, the Scarlet Knights have won two of nine games when listed as at least +165 or worse on the moneyline.
• Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that Rutgers has a 37.7% chance of pulling out a win.

Dunkel Index Prediction for Northwestern vs. Rutgers

• Pick ATS: Northwestern (- 4.5)
• Pick OU: Over (144.5)
  
• Prediction: Northwestern 78 - Rutgers 70