The Penn State Nittany Lions (20-12) battle the No. 25 Northwestern Wildcats (21-10) in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament Friday. Tip from United Center is set for 6:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Penn State vs. Northwestern odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
Rankings courtesy of the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.
Penn State beat Northwestern 68-65 on March 1, covering as a 4.5-point road underdog in their only meeting this season. The total (133) pushed.
The Nittany Lions beat the Illinois Fighting Illini 79-76 as a 3-point underdog in the 2nd round of the Big Ten Tournament Thursday. Penn State is 5-2-1 against the spread (ATS) in its last 8 games and 17-13-2 ATS this season.
The Wildcats are 19-12 ATS on the season. They capped off the regular season Sunday with a 65-53 win at Rutgers as 5.5-point underdogs. Northwestern finished the regular season on a 7-2 ATS run.
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Penn State vs. Northwestern odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Penn State +100 (bet $100 to win $100) | Northwestern -120 (bet $120 to win $100)
- Against the spread (ATS): Penn State +1.5 (-115) | Northwestern -1.5 (-105)
- Over/Under (O/U): 130.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)
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Penn State vs. Northwestern picks and predictions
Prediction
Northwestern 69, Penn State 65
Moneyline
BET NORTHWESTERN (-120).
The Nittany Lions closed out the season with just a 5-5 straight-up record while Northwestern won 6 of its last 9 games and covered the spread in 7 of them.
With the 7th-highest 3-point shooting rate (47.9%), Penn State lives and dies by the long ball. I would bet against it living against a Northwestern team that has a solid defense and should be better equipped than it was when these programs squared off on March 1.
NW was 12-8 in conference play while Penn State was just 11-10. The Wildcats have been better all season so back NORTHWESTERN (-120).
Against the spread
PASS.
I’m not too fond of these odds and would rather play the moneyline and not worry about the point.
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Over/Under
LEAN OVER 130.5 (-110).
Penn State shoots the three at the 7th-highest rate in the nation and attempts the 9th-most total shots from deep per game. It is going to get its shots up which should help force at a fast pace. Penn State is 6-2-1 O/U in its last 9 outings.
While Northwestern scores just 67.7 points per game (276th), it should have to increase its pace in this one. Back the OVER 130.5 (-110) given the style of play the Nittany Lions will force.
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