Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas A&M Aggies Prediction, 3/16/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas A&M Aggies

Date: Thursday, March 16, 2023

Location: Wells Fargo Arena (IA) in Des Moines, IA

TV: TBS

Odds/Point Spread: Penn State (+4)

The Texas A&M Aggies (25-9) will try to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions (22-13) at Wells Fargo Arena (IA) on Thursday. Texas A&M opens this matchup as 4-point favorites from oddsmakers. The over/under has been set at 134.5.

The Penn State Nittany Lions took the court against Purdue and ended up losing by a score of 67-65 in their last contest. Penn State finished having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (22 out of 51) and knocked down 7 of their 23 shots from beyond the arc. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions knocked down 14 of their 15 attempts for a rate of 93.3%. When discussing hauling in boards, they earned 28 with 3 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 14 assists in the game as well as creating 7 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When discussing the defense, Penn State let their opponent shoot 38.7% from the field on 24 of 62 shooting. Purdue doled out 17 dimes and had 5 steals in the game. Moreover, Purdue totaled 36 rebounds (12 offensive, 24 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Purdue shot 65.0% at the charity stripe by making 13 of their 20 shots. They also made 6 out of their 28 shots from beyond the arc. Regarding fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up finishing with 20 while Purdue recorded 14 fouls.

Seth Lundy is someone who had an impact in this contest. He scored 19 points on 5 out of 9 shooting. He played for 32 minutes played and also grabbed 8 rebounds. He shot 55.6% from the floor and dished out 1 assist.

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Penn State will enter this game with a record of 22-13 this year. They are averaging 72.3 pts per contest (165th in Division 1) while connecting on 46.4% from the field. The Nittany Lions are shooting 38.5% on shots from beyond the arc (364 of 945) and 73.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Penn State is pulling in 32.6 rebounds per game and is sitting with 488 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 60th in the nation in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 9.0 times per contest and as a squad they commit 15.7 personal fouls every game.

When they are on defense, the Nittany Lions are forcing their opponents into 8.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 13.5 personal fouls. They surrender 33.3% on shots from distance and they are 126th in D-1 in PPG allowed (68.4). The Nittany Lions defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 43.0% (882 of 2,051) and they concede 34.9 boards per game as a group. They rank 342nd in college basketball in allowing assists to the opposition with 495 surrendered on the year.

In their last game, the Texas A&M Aggies took a loss by a final score of 82-63 when they played Alabama. In regard to cleaning the glass, Texas A&M permitted Alabama to snag 48 overall (20 offensive). They finished 33.3% from three-point range by going 12 out of 36 and ended up going 16 of 22 from the charity stripe (72.7%). The Aggies allowed Alabama to convert 27 out of 66 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 40.9% for this contest. When the final whistle was blown, the Aggies finished the game shooting 19 for 64 from the floor which had them shooting 29.7%. In relation to shots from 3-point land, Texas A&M converted 5 of 15 attempts (33.3%). They were able to make 20 of them for a rate of 83.3%. Alabama was called for 19 fouls in the game which got the Aggies to the free throw line for a total of 24 shots. They also coughed it up 12 times, while getting 5 steals for this contest. The Aggies were able to collect 18 defensive boards and 15 offensive rebounds totaling 33 for the game.

Wade Taylor was important for the Aggies in this matchup. He earned 25 points in his 31 mins on the hardwood and tallied 4 assists for the contest. He made 8 out of 13 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and earned 1 rebound.

Texas A&M has a record of 25-9 for the season. On the offensive side of the court, the Aggies are hitting on 43.5% from the floor, which has them ranked 246th in the nation. Texas A&M has 2,490 points on the season (73.2 per contest) and they pull in 36.8 rebounds per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 12.6 times per contest (214th in college hoops) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.4 times per game. The Aggies commit 18.3 fouls per game and they shoot 75.9% from the free throw line.

The Aggies on the defensive end are ranked 66th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 66.2. They have forced 14.2 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 40.5% from the floor (26th in D-1). The Texas A&M defense allows 32.3% on shots from distance (277 of 858) and their opponents are making 70.4% of their foul shots. They have given up 13.2 dimes and 32.1 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 216th and 64th in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Texas A&M (-4)

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