Michigan Wolverines vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 1/7/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan Wolverines vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Sunday, January 7, 2024

Location: The Palestra in Philadelphia, PA

TV: BTN

The Palestra is the location where the Penn State Nittany Lions (7-7) will take on the Michigan Wolverines (6-8) on Sunday.

The Michigan Wolverines played Minnesota and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 73-71 in their last contest. Michigan ended having earned a 41.4% field goal percentage (24 of 58) and made 6 of their 19 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Wolverines converted 17 of their 22 attempts for a percentage of 77.3%. With regard to grabbing boards, they earned 33 with 11 of them being offensive. They also recorded 9 assists in the game while forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When discussing defense, Michigan allowed their opponent to shoot 47.5% from the field on 29 out of 61 shooting. Minnesota doled out 17 dimes and had 7 steals for the game. Additionally, Minnesota collected 31 rebounds (12 offensive, 19 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Minnesota finished the game shooting 55.6% at the free throw line by burying 5 of their 9 attempts. They buried 10 out of their 24 tries from downtown. In the matter of personal fouls, the Wolverines finished with 14 and Minnesota recorded 18 personal fouls.

Nimari Burnett is a guy who came through for the contest. He went 66.7% from the floor but had no dimes when the game ended. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and snagged 4 rebounds. He racked up 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting.

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Michigan will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 6-8 this year. They are turning it over 13.0 times per game and as a team they commit 17.3 fouls per game. As a team, Michigan is pulling down 37.6 rebounds per game and has 190 dimes so far this season, which is 189th in the country in terms of passing the ball. The Wolverines are shooting 37.9% from downtown (130 of 343) and 71.6% from the charity stripe. They average 82.3 pts per game (43rd in the country) on 48.0% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wolverines have forced 10.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.5 fouls. They are ranked 191st in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 178 surrendered so far this season. The Wolverines defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.1% (408 of 905) and they surrender 34.4 rebounds per game as a squad. They are conceding 36.1% on shots from downtown while they are 332nd in D-1 in PPG allowed (78.6).

When they last played, the Penn State Nittany Lions went home defeated by a final of 92-61 against Michigan State. The Nittany Lions were able to corral 21 defensive boards and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 32 for the matchup. They also gave up possession 15 times, while earning 4 steals for the game. Michigan State was called for 17 fouls for the game which got the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for 22 shots. They were able to knock down 18 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 81.8%. When it comes to shots from distance, Penn State converted 3 of their 29 attempts (10.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Nittany Lions walked away from this one shooting 20 for 62 from the field which gave them a percentage of 32.3%. The Nittany Lions permitted Michigan State to convert 36 of 64 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 56.3% in the game. They finished 47.6% from distance by connecting on 10 of 21 and walked away from this one shooting 10 of 13 from the free throw line (76.9%). When it comes to rebounding, Penn State allowed Michigan State to snag 35 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Kanye Clary ended up being a factor for the Nittany Lions in this matchup. He buried 5 out of 10 in the matchup for a rate of 50.0%, and had 2 rebounds. He racked up 21 points in his 33 mins on the court and totaled 5 dimes for this game.

Penn State has a win-loss record of 7-7 for the campaign. The Nittany Lions are responsible for committing 17.6 personal fouls per game and they go 73.7% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 11.6 times per contest (317th in the country) and they turn it over 11.7 times per contest. Penn State has earned 1,068 pts for the campaign (76.3 per game) and they grab 33.5 boards per game. In terms of offensive execution, the Nittany Lions are connecting on 43.0% from the field, which is ranked 272nd in college basketball.

The Nittany Lions on the defensive end are ranked 198th in college hoops in PPG surrendered with 71.9. They are forcing their opponents into 16.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.7% from the field (236th in D-1). The Penn State defense gives up 30.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter (84 of 277) and opponents are knocking down 76.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They have relinquished 13.9 assists and 38.9 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks 270th and 329th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Penn State

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