Maryland Terrapins vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 2/5/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Maryland Terrapins vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Friday, February 5, 2021

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Maryland (+2)

The Penn State Nittany Lions (6-8) play the Maryland Terrapins (10-8) at Bryce Jordan Center on Friday. Penn State opens this contest as 2-point favorites. The total opens at 145.

Maryland will enter this matchup with a record of 10-8 for the season. They currently have an average of 70.8 pts per game (203rd in Division 1) while hitting 46.2% from the field. The Terrapins are hitting 35.8% on three-point attempts (149 of 416) and 67.5% from the free throw line. As a team, Maryland is grabbing 33.7 boards per game and has accounted for 249 assists for the campaign, which has them ranked 61st in D-1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 10.9 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 15.1 fouls per game. On the defensive end, the Terrapins have forced 11.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.3 fouls. They are ranked 259th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 222 surrendered for the season. The Terrapins defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 42.5% (438 of 1,031) and they concede 33.4 rebounds per contest as a squad. They give up 34.9% on 3-point attempts and they are 86th in college basketball in points per game allowed (66.7).

The Maryland Terrapins played the Purdue Boilermakers and notched a win by a score of 61-60 in their last contest. Maryland wrapped up the contest with a 45.7% field goal percentage (21 of 46) and made 9 of their 25 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Terrapins converted 10 of their 15 attempts for a percentage of 66.7%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 20 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 13 dimes in the game in addition to getting 10 steals and 2 blocked shots. Regarding defense, Maryland allowed the other team to shoot 45.7% from the field on 21 out of 46 shooting. Purdue distributed 9 assists and had 3 steals in this game. Furthurmore, the Boilermakers grabbed 32 rebounds (10 offensive, 22 defensive) and earned 2 blocks. Purdue went 80.0% at the free throw line by making 12 of 15 shots. They also buried 4 of 17 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Aaron Wiggins is a player who was a factor for this contest. He accumulated 18 points on 7 out of 16 shooting. He played 38 minutes and grabbed 11 boards. Wiggins shot 43.8% from the field and dished out 2 assists. One more player that was a contributor in the game for the Terrapins was Eric Ayala. He snagged 3 rebounds and also collected 5 dimes. He finished 50.0% from the field in this contest by going 4-of-8 (16 points). When this game wrapped up, Ayala played for 36 minutes.

Penn State has a record of 6-8 this year. As an offensive team, the Nittany Lions are connecting on 42.8% from the field, which is 255th in the nation. Penn State has accounted for 1,058 pts this season (75.6 per contest) and they pull in 35.6 rebounds per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.9 times per contest (203rd in college hoops) and they turn it over 11.8 times per game. The Nittany Lions commit 19.0 personal fouls every game while shooting 71.7% from the charity stripe. The Nittany Lions defensively are ranked 290th in D-1 in PPG given up with 76.0. They relinquish 14.4 dimes and 34.8 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 268th and 158th in those defensive categories. The Penn State defense gives up 32.1% on shots from distance (97 of 302) and opponents are connecting on 73.6% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 14.5 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 47.1% from the floor (313th in Division 1).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a score of 72-56 when they played the Wisconsin Badgers. The Nittany Lions pulled down 14 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds totaling 24 for this contest. They also rejected 3 attempts while recording 6 steals for the matchup. The Badgers committed 13 personal fouls for the game which took the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for 10 attempts. They were able to convert 6 of them for a rate of 60.0%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Penn State made 6 out of 24 tries (25.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Nittany Lions ended up going 22 out of 57 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.6%. The Nittany Lions permitted the Badgers to make 25 out of their 52 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.1% for this contest. They finished shooting 50.0% from three-point range by connecting on 9 out of 18 and ended up going 13 out of 16 at the free throw line (81.3%). In relation to rebounding, Penn State allowed Wisconsin to get 31 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

Myreon Jones ended up being a factor for the Nittany Lions in the game. He buried 6 of 15 in the game for a field goal rate of 40.0%, which had him sitting at 14 points. Jones snagged 2 boards in his 34 minutes played and earned 2 assists in the matchup. One more player who came through for Penn State was John Harrar. He notched 10 points in 22 minutes played by going 3 of 3 from the floor in the game. Harrar wrapped this one up going 100.0% from the field while earning 2 dimes and 5 total rebounds.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Penn State (-2)

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