Oakland vs Northern Iowa Prediction 12/13/2025 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Oakland Golden Grizzlies and the Northern Iowa Panthers meet Saturday in college basketball action from McLeod Center in Cedar Falls. Here’s a Oakland vs Northern Iowa prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Oakland vs Northern Iowa pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies Betting Preview

The Grizzlies limped to a 1-5 record in their first six games, beating only Defiance amid losses to Michigan, Purdue, Houston, Central Florida and Eastern Michigan. Since then Oakland has hit their stride with four straight wins, though. Those have come courtesy of Lamar, Montana, Fort Wayne and Toledo, giving the Golden Grizzlies a 5-5 overall run across their first 10 outings this season.

In the Toledo matchup last weekend, the Grizzlies trailed 48-45 by the end of the first half. Oakland hit a 53-49 run the rest of the way in a 98-97 victory. Topping the scorers was Ziare Wells with 21 points and five boards. Brody Robinson added 19 points with six assists and Tuburu Naivalurua had 18 points with five rebounds and three assists in the winning effort for the Golden Grizzlies.

Northern Iowa Panthers Betting Preview

Over on the Panthers’ side, they rolled to six straight wins to kick off the season. Those victories were over Cal State Northridge, South Dakota State, Furman, Northern Illinois, UC Irvine and Loyola Chicago. Northern Iowa has since gone just 1-2 in the last trio with a win over Coe sandwiched between losses versus Tulsa and Wichita State. Over nine games so far the Panthers have a 7-2 record this season.

Matched up against Wichita State last Saturday, the Panthers entered the second half with a 35-28 deficit. Northern Iowa managed to force overtime but eventually lost 74-69 in the end. Tristan Smith led the team on 16 points with four rebounds, and Will Hornseth had 15 points with eight rebounds and four assists. Trey Campbell put up 14 points with five rebounds and three assists as well.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies @ Northern Iowa Panthers Betting Trends: December 13, 2025

Why the Northern Iowa Panthers will win

• Northern Iowa has won seven of its last eight games after coming off overtime.
• Oakland has lost four of its last five games against the Missouri Valley Conference.
• Oakland has lost the first half in three of its last four road games.

Why the Oakland Golden Grizzlies will win

• Oakland has won each of its last five day games against non-AP-ranked opponents.

Oakland vs Northern Iowa Prediction

I’ll stick with the Panthers here. Northern Iowa is coming off a tough loss to Wichita State at McLeod Center, shooting just 3-of-18 (16.7 percent) from outside and 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the line alongside a 38-30 rebounding deficit. The Panthers didn’t play too badly otherwise but couldn’t overcome the spotty scoring. Even with the OT boost, that gives Northern Iowa fewer than 70 points in two of the last three games (both losses) so I’d like to see them break that trend here.

As for Oakland they eked past a decent Toledo squad in their last outing thanks to 55.7 percent shooting and just four turnovers. The Grizzlies got out-rebounded pretty badly though (40-27) and gave up 53.9 percent shooting. I don’t know if they’ll keep much of a pace with UNI.

Andrew Jett's Pick: Northern Iowa Panthers -8