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It's time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Northwestern-Washington prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Northwestern-Washington.
The Washington Huskies are having a rough season under first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle. They just can't seem to turn the corner at any point in time. They beat Minnesota on the road one week ago, and the hope was that the win might become a catalyst for something more, and a sustained period of good play from the Huskies. Washington did start out hot earlier this week in a home game against a Nebraska team which is squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble. However, the Huskies could not hold the lead. They were overwhelmed down the stretch and lost. Washington has won only one Big Ten home game this season, on January 2 against Maryland. The Huskies' inability to defend their home floor has been a central reason for their struggles in this 2024-2025 campaign.
Washington will try to notch a second conference home win when it hosts Northwestern. The Wildcats are without their best player, Brooks Barnhizer, for the rest of the season due to an injury Barnhizer recently suffered. Northwestern, in its first full game without Barnhizer this past week, was able to beat USC. The Wildcats did not make it easy, however. They were up by eight points late in the game and fouled USC 3-point shooters multiple times, the second one being on a made triple. USC got a 4-point play to tie the game at 75. Fortunately for NU, Nick Martinelli scored with 2.4 seconds left to break the tie and ultimately win the game for the Wildcats, 77-75. Let's see if Northwestern can continue to be resourceful without its best player on the floor.
Here are the Northwestern-Washington College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Northwestern-Washington Odds
Northwestern: +2.5 (-118)
Moneyline: +118
Washington: -2.5 (-104)
Moneyline: -142
Over: 136.5 (-110)
Under: 136.5 (-110)
How to Watch Northwestern vs Washington
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT
TV: Big Ten Network
*Watch college basketball LIVE with fuboTV (Get Access | Save $30)*
Why Northwestern Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Wildcats outplayed USC despite not having Brooks Barnhizer. They can certainly outplay Washington under the same circumstances. Just as a point of comparison, USC beat Washington by 24 points in Seattle earlier this season. Washington is not a better team than USC. If NU could handle the Trojans, it can certainly handle the Huskies, who — as we noted above — have won only one Big Ten Conference home game this entire campaign, and struggle to generate consistent quality basketball on their own floor. Northwestern showed against USC that even though it might be shorthanded, it is not about to give anything less than its best effort and will not quit on its season.
Why Washington Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Huskies aren't a good team, but they have their moments. The win at Minnesota was one of them. Washington then blitzed Nebraska in the first 10 to 15 minutes of its most recent game before faltering in the second half. This team plays well at times. The key is to turn those small pockets of good play into full games and minimize the crushing counter-runs other teams regularly make against the Huskies.
Northwestern did win without Brooks Barnhizer against USC, but that was a home game, and it still went down to the wire. This is a road game, and it's more likely that Northwestern's offense will suffer away from home. You're going to see NU's offensive limitations come into play here, and that is what will tip the balance of power in this game toward Washington.
Final Northwestern-Washington Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Washington, but we're not going to trust a team which has been so poor at home in conference games this season. Pass.
Final Northwestern-Washington Prediction & Pick: Washington -2.5
