Penn State Nittany Lions vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, 2/17/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Date: Saturday, February 17, 2024

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE

TV: BTN

Pinnacle Bank Arena is the location where the Nebraska Cornhuskers (17-8) will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-13) on Saturday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions took the court against Michigan State and went home with a loss by a final score of 80-72 in their last contest. Penn State ended having earned a 45.3% FG percentage (24 of 53) and buried 12 of their 23 3-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Nittany Lions converted 12 of 12 tries for a percentage of 100.0%. In reference to pulling down rebounds, they compiled 20 with 5 of them being offensive. They also dished out 12 assists for the game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and getting 3 steals. Concerning defense, Penn State allowed the other team to go 50.8% from the floor on 30 out of 59 shooting. Michigan State distributed 15 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. In addition, Michigan State snagged 30 boards (8 offensive, 22 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Michigan State finished 87.5% from the charity stripe by making 14 of 16 tries. They made 6 of their 15 tries from beyond the arc. Concerning personal fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up finishing with 10 and Michigan State totaled 11 personal fouls.

Ace Baldwin is one guy who had an impact for this game. He totaled 15 points on 3 out of 11 shooting. He was on the court for 40 mins played and also pulled down 2 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 27.3% from the floor and recorded 7 dimes.

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Penn State comes into this one with a record of 12-13 so far this year. They have an average of 75.8 points per game (127th in Division 1) while connecting on 44.2% from the floor. The Nittany Lions are shooting 33.1% from downtown (198 of 598) and 74.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, Penn State is pulling in 31.5 boards per contest and has racked up 311 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 224th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 11.0 times per contest and as a group they are committing 17.9 fouls per contest.

When they are on the defensive end, the Nittany Lions are forcing 15.2 turnovers every game and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 325th in college hoops in giving up assists with 369 surrendered for the season. The Nittany Lions defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 45.8% (655 of 1,431) and they concede 36.9 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 31.3% on shots from distance and they rank 232nd in college basketball in PPG allowed (73.6).

When they last played, the Nebraska Cornhuskers got the victory with a final of 79-59 when they faced Michigan. The Cornhuskers were able to corral 27 defensive boards and 12 offensive boards totaling 39 for the game. They also coughed it up 9 times, while recording 7 steals in this matchup. Michigan was called for 14 fouls in the matchup which took the Cornhuskers to the charity stripe for a total of 16 shots. They were able to bury 10 of those for a clip of 62.5%. In relation to shots from beyond the arc, Nebraska knocked down 9 of 23 tries (39.1%). When the game finished, the Cornhuskers shot 30 out of 64 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.9%. The Cornhuskers allowed Michigan to make 20 of 62 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 32.3% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 33.3% from 3-point land by shooting 8 of 24 and finished the game at 11 of 15 from the charity stripe (73.3%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Nebraska permitted Michigan to snag 36 overall (17 on the offensive side).

Keisei Tominaga was important for the Cornhuskers in this matchup. He scored 19 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists for the game. He made 8 out of 14 for the contest for a rate of 57.1%, and had 1 rebound.

Nebraska has a record of 17-8 this season. The Cornhuskers are committing 15.5 fouls per contest and they go 75.7% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 15.6 times per game (52nd in the country) and they are giving up possession 11.4 times per contest. Nebraska has tallied 1,933 pts on the year (77.3 per contest) and they collect 37.8 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Cornhuskers are shooting 45.0% from the field, which has them ranked 163rd in the nation.

The Cornhuskers on defense are ranked 149th in D-1 in PPG given up with 70.8. They are forcing 11.6 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.2% from the floor (25th in Division 1). The Nebraska defense surrenders 33.2% on shots from distance (221 of 666) and their opposition makes 68.9% of their free throw shots. They surrender 13.6 dimes and 37.2 total boards per game, which ranks them 253rd and 301st in college basketball.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Penn State

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