Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 3/1/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: ESPN+

The Northwestern Wildcats (20-9) welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions (17-12) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced Rutgers and took a loss by a score of 59-56 in their last game. Penn State walked away from the contest having earned a 37.0% FG percentage (20 out of 54) and buried 8 out of their 29 shots from 3-point land. From the free throw line, the Nittany Lions buried 8 of their 13 tries for a percentage of 61.5%. Pertaining to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 36 with 9 of them being offensive. They also distributed 11 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 4 turnovers and getting 1 steal. In reference to the defense, Penn State allowed 37.7% from the floor on 23 of 61 shooting. Rutgers totaled 9 assists and had 5 steals for this game. Additionally, Rutgers collected 37 boards (10 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Rutgers finished the game shooting 63.6% from the charity stripe by knocking down 7 of their 11 attempts. They converted 6 of their 18 shots from 3-point land. When discussing fouls, the Nittany Lions finished with 12 while Rutgers accounted for 15 fouls.

Camren Wynter is one player who was a contributor for this contest. He shot 66.7% from the floor and also distributed 3 assists. He was on the hardwood for 31 minutes and snagged 4 boards. He ended up scoring 16 points on 6 out of 9 shooting.

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Penn State steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 17-12 on the year. They are turning it over 8.6 times per contest and as a group they are committing 15.5 personal fouls per contest. As a team, Penn State is pulling down 32.1 rebounds per game and has tallied 412 assists on the year, which has them ranked 123rd in the country in terms of passing. The Nittany Lions are connecting on 38.8% from downtown (311 of 802) and 74.8% from the free throw line. They are averaging 72.8 points per outing (156th in the nation) on 46.7% from the field.

On the defensive end, the Nittany Lions are able to force 9.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 12.8 fouls. They are surrendering 34.2% on 3-point attempts and they are 134th in college basketball in PPG allowed (68.4). The Nittany Lions defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 43.6% (730 of 1,676) and they surrender 35.1 rebounds per game as a group. They rank 250th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 406 relinquished this year.

The last time they took the court, the Northwestern Wildcats took a loss by a final score of 75-59 when they played Maryland. With respect to cleaning up the glass, Northwestern permitted Maryland to grab 28 overall (7 on the offensive side). They shot 63.6% from downtown by connecting on 14 of 22 and walked away from this one shooting 5 out of 8 at the free throw line (62.5%). The Wildcats allowed Maryland to make 28 of their 52 attempts from the field which left them with a rate of 53.8% in the game. When the game finished, the Wildcats went 24 out of 53 from the floor which had them sitting at 45.3%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Northwestern converted 5 of their 19 tries (26.3%). They were able to make 6 of the free throw tries for a rate of 85.7%. Maryland committed 8 fouls for the contest which got the Wildcats to the charity stripe for a total of 7 shots. They gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while earning 2 steals for the contest. The Wildcats were able to snag 17 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 25 in this matchup.

Chase Audige pitched in for the Wildcats in the game. He earned 16 points in his 37 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest. He made 7 of 12 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 2 rebounds.

Northwestern has a record of 20-9 on the year. As an offense, the Wildcats are connecting on 41.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 335th in the nation. Northwestern has accumulated 1,970 points for the year (67.9 per contest) and they grab 34.2 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 12.9 times per game (199th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.9 times per contest. The Wildcats commit 16.0 personal fouls per game and they hit 75.3% from the free throw line.

The Northwestern defense concedes 33.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (221 of 651) and opponents are converting on 69.1% of their free throw shots. They have given up 13.4 assists and 34.9 rebounds per contest, ranking them 232nd and 239th in D-1. The Wildcats are ranked 21st in college basketball in points given up per game with 62.4. They are forcing their opponents into 14.2 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.2% from the field (52nd in the nation).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Penn State

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