Penn State Nittany Lions vs UMass Minutemen Prediction, 11/15/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs UMass Minutemen

Date: Monday, November 15, 2021

Location: William D. Mullins Memorial Center in Amherst, MA

TV: ESPN+

The UMass Minutemen (8-7 last year) will compete against the Penn State Nittany Lions (11-14 last season) at William D. Mullins Memorial Center on Monday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions played Youngstown State and took home the win by a score of 75-59 in their last game. In regard to fouls, the Nittany Lions walked away with 15 while Youngstown State accounted for 17 fouls. They buried 10 out of their 24 shots from 3-point land. Youngstown State finished shooting 50.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 5 of their 10 tries. Moreover, Youngstown State totaled 24 rebounds (6 offensive, 18 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Youngstown State doled out 8 assists and had 5 steals in the matchup. In terms of defense, Penn State allowed the other team to shoot 39.3% from the field on 22 out of 56 shooting. They also distributed 16 dimes for this game while forcing 8 turnovers and earning 3 steals. Regarding grabbing rebounds, they earned 39 with 10 of them being offensive. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions knocked down 7 of 11 attempts for a rate of 63.6%. Penn State finished the game with a 51.7% field goal percentage (31 out of 60) and buried 6 of their 20 shots from beyond the arc.

John Harrar is one guy who had an impact in this contest. He finished the game shooting 100.0% from the floor and recorded 1 assist. He was on the hardwood for 26 mins played and totaled 14 rebounds. He scored 16 points on 7 of 7 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Betting Picks

Penn State steps onto the hardwood after finishing with a win-loss record of 11-14 last season. They averaged 72.6 points per game (131st in the country) while hitting 40.8% from the field. The Nittany Lions shot 33.8% on shots from beyond the arc (221 of 654) and 73.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Penn State pulled down 36.5 rebounds per contest and totaled 335 assists last season, which ranked 141st in the country in terms of passing the rock. They turned it over 11.4 times per contest and as a squad committed 17.8 personal fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions forced 13.9 turnovers per contest and they drew 17.3 fouls. They were 276th in D-1 in allowing assists 363 relinquished throughout last season. The Nittany Lions defense allowed a FG percentage of 46.4% (649 of 1,398) and they surrendered 34.0 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They gave up 34.5% on 3-point shots and they were 255th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (73.0).

In their last game, the UMass Minutemen got the victory with a final of 77-60 when they played UMBC. In relation to cleaning up the glass, UMass allowed UMBC to pull down 42 in all (15 on the offensive glass). They shot 17.9% from 3-point land via 5 of 28 and ended up going 13 of 14 at the charity stripe (92.9%). The Minutemen allowed UMBC to convert 21 out of 65 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 32.3% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Minutemen walked away from this one shooting 31 for 65 from the field which had them shooting 47.7%. In the matter of shots from beyond the perimeter, UMass converted 4 out of 17 tries (23.5%). They were able to knock down 11 of them for a rate of 61.1%. UMBC committed 16 personal fouls for the game which took the Minutemen to the free throw line for 18 attempts. They turned it over 9 times, while getting 11 steals for this contest. The Minutemen recorded 24 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the game.

Trent Buttrick pitched in for the Minutemen for the contest. He had 16 points in his 24 minutes on the court and totaled 1 assist in this contest. He made 6 of 12 for this game for a rate of 50.0%, and added 7 rebounds.

UMass had a win-loss mark of 8-7 last year. In terms of offensive execution, the Minutemen connected on 42.8% from the field, which ranked them 255th in the nation. UMass scored 1,151 pts throughout last season (76.7 per game) and they averaged 34.5 boards per game. They dished out assists 14.9 times per game (66th in college basketball) and they coughed up possession 12.1 times per contest. The Minutemen were responsible for committing 17.4 fouls every game while shooting 73.3% from the free throw line.

The Minutemen on the defensive side of the court were 256th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 73.0. They were able to force 14.7 turnovers per game and allowed teams to shoot 45.8% from the floor (280th in D-1). The UMass defense conceded 33.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (90 of 266) and their opposition made 67.7% of their free throw attempts. They surrendered 15.3 assists and 37.0 boards on a nightly basis, which was ranked 310th and 271st in D-1.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take UMass

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here