Penn State Nittany Lions vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, 12/10/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Date: Tuesday, December 10, 2024

Location: Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, NJ

TV: Peacock

Jersey Mike’s Arena is the location where the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (5-4) will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (8-1) on Tuesday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced off with Purdue and went home with a win by a final score of 81-70 in their last game. Penn State ended with a 48.9% FG percentage (23 of 47) and converted 7 of their 18 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions made 28 of 32 tries for a percentage of 87.5%. In the matter of rebounding, they earned a total of 26 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 14 dimes for the contest while forcing 22 turnovers and earning 14 steals. Regarding defense, Penn State allowed the other team to go 51.1% from the field on 24 of 47 shooting. Purdue doled out 17 assists and had 9 steals for this contest. Additionally, Purdue pulled down 22 rebounds (4 offensive, 18 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Purdue finished the game at 73.7% at the free throw line by making 14 of their 19 shots. They knocked down 8 out of their 21 attempts from distance. When discussing fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up walking away with 20 while Purdue finished the game with 21 fouls.

Ace Baldwin Jr. is one guy who was a contributor for this game. He recorded 17 points on 2 out of 5 shooting. He saw the court for 29 minutes played and also pulled down 2 rebounds. He walked away from this one shooting 40.0% from the floor and distributed 6 dimes.

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Penn State comes into this contest with a mark of 8-1 for the season. They are averaging 90.1 points per game (4th in Division 1) while going 51.9% from the floor. The Nittany Lions are shooting 38.2% on shots from downtown (76 of 199) and 73.4% from the charity stripe. As a team, Penn State is snagging 36.6 boards per contest and is sitting with 166 assists this season, which has them ranked 33rd in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 12.4 times per game and as a group are committing 17.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Nittany Lions have forced 18.0 turnovers every game while drawing 22.0 personal fouls. They rank 233rd in D-1 in giving up assists with 128 relinquished for the season. The Nittany Lions are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.1% (213 of 506) and they surrender 31.6 boards per contest as a basketball team. They concede 33.7% on shots from downtown and they rank 98th in D-1 in PPG allowed (67.8).

In their last game, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights took a defeat with a final score of 80-66 when they faced Ohio State. In reference to how they attacked the glass, Rutgers permitted Ohio State to snag 29 in all (8 on the offensive side). They finished the game shooting 33.3% from three-point range by going 6 of 18 and ended up going 10 of 13 from the free throw line (76.9%). The Scarlet Knights permitted Ohio State to bury 32 out of their 58 attempts from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 55.2% in this game. When all was said and done, the Scarlet Knights finished the game shooting 24 for 57 from the floor which gave them a rate of 42.1%. In regard to shooting from beyond the arc, Rutgers buried 7 of 19 attempts (36.8%). They were able to make 11 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 91.7%. Ohio State earned 19 fouls for the matchup which got the Scarlet Knights to the free throw line for a total of 12 tries. They gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while earning 7 steals in the matchup. The Scarlet Knights earned 15 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 23 for this game.

Dylan Harper pitched in for the Scarlet Knights in this contest. He converted 6 out of 13 for this contest giving him a rate of 46.2%, and had 3 rebounds. He accumulated 20 points in his 37 minutes on the hardwood and accounted for 4 assists in this matchup.

Rutgers has a record of 5-4 on the campaign. As an offense, the Scarlet Knights are shooting 45.4% from the floor, which is 176th in D-1. Rutgers has accounted for 717 pts on the year (79.7 per contest) and they grab 36.0 rebounds per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 13.8 times per game (203rd in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 10.4 times per contest. The Scarlet Knights are responsible for committing 16.9 fouls per contest and they shoot 75.9% from the free throw line.

The Rutgers defense concedes 33.6% on shots from 3-point land (72 of 214) and their opponents are making 69.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They have allowed 12.7 dimes and 36.9 boards per game, ranking them 170th and 279th in college hoops. The Scarlet Knights defensively are ranked 284th in college basketball in points given up per game with 75.6. They are able to force 13.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 43.9% from the floor (234th in college basketball).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rutgers

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