Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas Longhorns Prediction, 3/18/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas Longhorns

Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023

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

TV: CBS

Odds/Point Spread: Penn State (+6)

The Penn State Nittany Lions (23-13) are hitting the road to Wells Fargo Arena (IA) on Saturday where they will take on the Texas Longhorns (27-8). Penn State opens as 6-point dogs. The total comes in at 140.5.

The Penn State Nittany Lions took the court against Texas A&M and took home the win by a score of 76-59 in their last contest. When it comes to fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up with 11 while Texas A&M accumulated 15 fouls. They knocked down 10 out of their 34 attempts from three-point range. Texas A&M went 75.0% from the charity stripe by converting 9 of 12 tries. Furthermore, Texas A&M grabbed 32 boards (15 offensive, 17 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Texas A&M doled out 9 assists and had 3 steals in the game. With regard to defending, Penn State allowed 33.9% from the floor on 20 of 59 shooting. They also doled out 14 assists for this contest as well as forcing 10 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In the matter of rebounding, they collected 27 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Nittany Lions knocked down 9 of their 11 attempts for a percentage of 81.8%. Penn State walked away from the contest having earned a 48.2% field goal percentage (27 of 56) and made 13 out of their 22 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Andrew Funk is a player who played a role in the matchup. He left the arena with 27 points on 8 out of 11 shooting. He played 34 mins and pulled down 4 boards. He ended up going 72.7% from the floor and also distributed 1 assist.

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Penn State heads into this one with a mark of 23-13 on the year. They currently have an average of 72.4 points per contest (164th in the country) on 46.5% from the floor. The Nittany Lions are hitting 39.0% on 3-point shots (377 of 967) and 74.0% from the charity stripe. As a team, Penn State is collecting 32.6 boards per game and has accounted for 502 dimes so far this year, which has them ranked 50th in D-1 in terms of passing. They are turning it over 9.0 times per contest and as a unit are committing 15.6 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Nittany Lions are forcing 8.7 turnovers every game and they draw 13.5 fouls. They are giving up 33.1% from 3-point land and they are 123rd in college hoops in PPG from their opponents (68.1). The Nittany Lions defense is giving up a FG percentage of 42.7% (902 of 2,110) and they surrender 34.9 boards per game as a unit. They currently rank 347th in college hoops in giving up assists with 504 conceded this year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Texas Longhorns walked away with a victory by a final of 81-61 against Colgate. In the matter of rebounding, Texas permitted Colgate to collect 23 overall (9 on the offensive glass). They finished 20.0% from behind the 3-point line by going 3 out of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 9 at the free throw line (88.9%). The Longhorns allowed Colgate to make 25 out of 58 tries from the field which had them at 43.1% in the matchup. Overall, the Longhorns went 31 for 58 from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.4%. In terms of three-point attempts, Texas converted 13 of 23 attempts (56.5%). They were able to bury 6 of them for a rate of 75.0%. Colgate was called for 11 fouls for the game which took the Longhorns to the free throw line for 8 attempts. They turned it over 13 times, while recording 7 steals for this contest. The Longhorns were able to collect 23 defensive boards and 11 offensive boards totaling 34 in the game.

Sir'Jabari Rice ended up being important for the Longhorns for the contest. He recorded 23 points in his 29 minutes of playing time and had 3 assists in this contest. He knocked down 8 of 14 for this contest for a field goal rate of 57.1%, and had 6 rebounds.

Texas has a win-loss record of 27-8 so far this year. The Longhorns have committed 17.5 personal fouls every game and they hit 75.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 16.2 times per game (18th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.7 times per contest. Texas has accounted for 2,728 pts on the year (77.9 per game) and they pull in 34.3 boards per contest. In terms of offensive execution, the Longhorns are shooting 47.0% from the field, which is 42nd in the nation.

The Longhorns on the defensive side of the court are 95th in D-1 in PPG allowed with 67.2. They are able to force 16.1 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor (80th in the country). The Texas defense surrenders 32.4% on 3-pointers (223 of 688) and their opposition knocks down 72.6% of their foul shots. They concede 11.2 assists and 34.7 boards every game, ranking them 67th and 224th in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Texas (-6)

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