The Penn State Nittany Lions take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Our college basketball odds series has our Penn State Purdue prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Penn State Purdue.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are on the very middle of the bubble in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament bid. The Big Ten is one big basketball traffic jam this year, which is really crazy. Purdue is in a commanding and comfortable first-place spot, but teams in second through 12th place are all very closely jumbled together. Northwestern was the sole holder of second place heading into Tuesday, but it lost at Iowa to drop in the standings. Northwestern, however, lost by 16 points at home to 12th-place Ohio State earlier this season. There is no clear-cut pecking order for most of the teams in the conference. It could easily be the case that at the Big Ten Tournament in March, the No. 8 or No. 9 seed will be markedly superior to the No. 3 or No. 4 seed just because the difference in conference record could be one game (that might separate teams five seeds apart), but the lower seed will have a vastly superior body of work in nonconference play and will be a generally more formidable and impressive team. Penn State crushed Michigan recently. The size of that win helped, but Michigan is one of a few Big Ten teams which is almost certain to not make the NCAA Tournament. Penn State will need to beat NCAA Tournament-quality teams to feel good about its at-large chances.
Purdue — currently the favorite to be the No. 1 overall seed at the NCAA Tournament in six weks — is the highest-quality win Penn State could possibly hope to have.
Here are the Penn State-Purdue college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
College Basketball Odds: Penn State-Purdue Odds
Penn State Nittany Lions: +9.5 (-110)
Purdue Boilermakers: -9.5 (-110)
Over: 135.5 (-110)
Under: 135.5 (-110)
How To Watch Penn State vs. Purdue
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: Fox Sports App and FuboTV
Time: 6:30 p.m. ET, 3:30 p.m. PT
*Watch Penn State-Purdue LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Penn State Could Cover The Spread
The Nittany Lions are going to be desperate in this game. They just played a brilliant game against Michigan, so they will come to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette feeling good about themselves and what they can achieve. Purdue did just blow out Michigan State, but that was a rematch of a game which was very, very close. Purdue was more likely to rip that game open and win big. This Penn State team played Purdue well for one half in Happy Valley several weeks ago but then got wiped off the board in the second half. That should be a learning experience for this team, which will adjust and play a more complete 40-minute game instead of the 20-minute game it delivered in its last meeting versus this heavyweight Purdue squad.
Why Purdue Could Cover The Spread
The Boilermakers are the best team in the Big Ten. They might be the best team in the country. They are in the driver's seat for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. It's really very simple: They have Zach Edey, and no one else does. Edey might be the best of the many big men coach Matt Painter has cultivated at Purdue over the years. He scores over the top of every defender he goes against, and when he gets swarmed by a predictable double- or triple-team, he tosses the ball out to the perimeter for wide-open 3-point shots. Purdue has been hitting enough of them to become a supreme headache for opposing defenses all season long.
Final Penn State-Purdue Prediction & Pick
Penn State is a desperate team, and that desperation could make the difference here. The ultimate piece of advice is to stay away from this game, but if you insist on a pick, lean to the Lions.
Final Penn State-Purdue Prediction & Pick: Penn State +9.5
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