Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 1/21/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Thursday, January 21, 2021

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Rutgers (+1)

Bryce Jordan Center is the venue where and the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-6) will take on the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (7-5) on Thursday. The odds on this matchup have Penn State as 1-point favorites. The total is set at 143.

Rutgers comes into this matchup with a mark of 7-5 on the year. The Scarlet Knights are shooting 34.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (78 of 224) and 57.1% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 73.9 points per contest (140th in D-1) while hitting 46.0% from the field. They are losing possession via turnover 10.4 times per game and as a group are committing 17.5 personal fouls per game. As a team, Rutgers is collecting 37.6 boards per game and has totaled 179 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 107th in college basketball in terms of passing the rock. On defense, the Scarlet Knights are forcing 12.7 turnovers per game while drawing 17.3 personal fouls. The Scarlet Knights defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 42.7% (301 of 705) and they surrender 36.8 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 223rd in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 162 surrendered on the year. They are conceding 31.8% on shots from distance while they are 199th in the nation in points per game allowed (70.9).

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights took the court against the Wisconsin Badgers and ended up losing by a score of 60-54 in their last contest. Rutgers finished the game with a 37.3% field goal percentage (25 out of 67) and knocked down 2 out of their 19 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Scarlet Knights made 2 of their 7 tries for a percentage of 28.6%. In terms of rebounding, they earned 47 with 17 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 6 dimes in this contest as well as earning 6 steals and 4 blocked shots. Pertaining to the defense, Rutgers allowed their opponent to shoot 37.3% from the floor on 25 of 67 shooting. Wisconsin doled out 10 dimes and had 10 steals in the game. Moreover, the Badgers collected 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive) and added 4 blocks. Wisconsin walked away from this one shooting 76.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 16 of 21 shots. They also made 6 out of their 25 attempts from distance.

Jacob Young is a guy who had an impact for this contest. He racked up 19 points on 9 out of 15 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and also snagged 2 boards. Young finished shooting 60.0% from the floor and also earned 3 assists. Another guy that was a determining factor in this contest for the Scarlet Knights was Myles Johnson. He pulled down 12 rebounds and also totaled 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 80.0% from the floor for the matchup by going 4-of-5 (9 points). In all, Johnson played for 25 minutes.

Penn State has a win-loss mark of 3-6 on the season. Penn State has totaled 686 pts on the season (76.2 per contest) and they pull in 36.7 rebounds per game. The Nittany Lions are responsible for committing 21.7 personal fouls every game and they shoot 71.8% from the charity stripe. On the offensive side of the court, the Nittany Lions are hitting on 41.9% from the floor, which is ranked 281st in college basketball. They are earning an assist 13.2 times per game (191st in D-1) and they are turning it over 11.6 times per game. The Nittany Lions defensively are ranked 305th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 77.0. The Penn State defense allows 29.3% on shots from beyond the arc (56 of 191) and their opponents are making 71.9% of their foul shots. They allow 14.0 dimes and 36.0 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 244th and 217th in college hoops. They have forced 14.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and have allowed teams to shoot 46.9% from the field (312th in college basketball).

The last time they took the court, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a score of 79-65 when they played the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Nittany Lions snagged 24 defensive boards and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in this matchup. They also blocked 2 attempts while recording 10 steals in this contest. The Fighting Illini had 21 fouls for the contest which got the Nittany Lions to the free throw line for 21 attempts. They were able to convert 16 of the free throw tries for a rate of 76.2%. In reference to shooting from 3-point land, Penn State converted 7 out of their 18 tries (38.9%). In all, the Nittany Lions shot 21 out of 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 33.9%. The Nittany Lions allowed the Fighting Illini to knock down 26 of their 57 attempts from the floor which had them sitting at 45.6% for this game. They finished the game shooting 30.4% from three-point range by shooting 7 of 23 and ended up going 20 out of 28 at the free throw line (71.4%). Regarding rebounding, Penn State permitted Illinois to collect 33 in all (7 offensive).

Myreon Jones pitched in for the Nittany Lions in this contest. He converted 6 out of 13 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 46.2%, which earned him 20 points. Jones had 3 rebounds in his 34 minutes played and tallied 2 dimes for the contest. Someone else who came through for Penn State was Seth Lundy. He was able to score 13 points in 24 minutes played by going 3 of 9 from the floor in the game. Lundy ended up shooting 33.3% from the field while also earning 2 dimes and 5 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Penn State (-1)

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