Penn State Nittany Lions vs VCU Rams Prediction, 12/18/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs VCU Rams

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: Stuart C. Siegel Center in Richmond, VA

TV: ESPN+

The Penn State Nittany Lions (5-5) are hitting the road to Stuart C. Siegel Center on Saturday where they will compete against the VCU Rams (7-4).

The Penn State Nittany Lions stepped onto the hardwood against Michigan State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 80-64 in their last contest. Penn State ended the game with a 42.9% FG percentage (27 out of 63) and converted 5 of their 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. From the free throw line, the Nittany Lions knocked down 5 of 7 tries for a rate of 71.4%. In regard to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 28 with 6 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 14 assists for this contest in addition to creating 11 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Regarding defending, Penn State allowed the other team to shoot 52.5% from the floor on 31 of 59 shooting. Michigan State earned 21 assists and had 4 steals for this game. Moreover, Michigan State snagged 36 rebounds (8 offensive, 28 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Michigan State shot 69.2% at the free throw line by burying 9 of their 13 attempts. They also made 9 out of their 21 attempts from beyond the arc. When discussing personal fouls, the Nittany Lions walked away with 15 and Michigan State had 8 personal fouls.

John Harrar is a guy who played a role for the contest. He ended up going 66.7% from the floor and dished out 3 assists. He played 26 minutes and collected 11 boards. He notched 16 points on 6 of 9 shooting.

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Penn State will enter this matchup with a record of 5-5 for the season. They turn the ball over 13.0 times per game and as a group are committing 14.6 personal fouls every game. As a team, Penn State is grabbing 35.0 boards per game and has tallied 137 assists for the year, which is 179th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Nittany Lions are connecting on 33.2% on shots from downtown (80 of 241) and 73.7% from the free throw line. They average 67.3 points per game (277th in the nation) while connecting on 45.4% from the field.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions are forcing their opponents into 9.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 15.9 fouls. They are ranked 145th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 122 conceded for the campaign. The Nittany Lions defensively are allowing an opponent FG percentage of 42.0% (245 of 583) and they relinquish 31.2 boards per game as a team. They are relinquishing 33.6% on shots from downtown while they are 126th in college basketball in points per game allowed (65.9).

For their last game, the VCU Rams got the win with a final of 66-46 against Florida Atlantic. Concerning rebounding, VCU allowed Florida Atlantic to pull down 26 in all (7 offensive). They went 21.7% from three-point range by hitting 5 out of 23 and finished the game at 7 out of 12 at the free throw line (58.3%). The Rams allowed Florida Atlantic to make 17 out of their 49 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 34.7% in this matchup. Overall, the Rams went 24 for 43 from the floor which had them shooting 55.8%. With regard to shots from 3-point land, VCU knocked down 4 of their 11 attempts (36.4%). They were able to knock down 14 of them for a percentage of 60.9%. Florida Atlantic committed 24 personal fouls for the game which took the Rams to the charity stripe for 23 attempts. They turned the ball over 22 times, while getting 13 steals for this contest. The Rams were able to corral 25 defensive boards and 1 offensive rebounds for a total of 26 for the contest.

Jayden Nunn ended up being a major contributor for the Rams in the game. He knocked down 4 of 9 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 44.4%, and earned 3 rebounds. He accumulated 9 points in his 32 mins of playing time and accumulated 2 assists in this contest.

VCU has a win-loss mark of 7-4 this season. As an offensive unit, the Rams are shooting 42.8% from the field, which ranks 245th in college basketball. VCU has earned 666 pts so far this season (60.5 per game) and they pull down 32.5 rebounds per game. They are assisting teammates 12.2 times per game (254th in college basketball) and they turn it over 16.3 times per contest. The Rams are responsible for committing 16.9 personal fouls every game and they go 64.0% from the charity stripe.

The VCU defense gives up 23.8% on shots from beyond the perimeter (51 of 214) and opponents are converting on 71.5% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 10.1 dimes and 37.4 rebounds every game, which ranks them 40th and 281st in those categories. The Rams on the defensive end are ranked 11th in the nation in points allowed per contest with 56.7. They are able to force 18.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 36.4% from the floor (9th in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take VCU

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