It’s been a miserable season for Rutgers and Penn State. Both teams are in the basement of the Big Ten and would need a historic turnaround and conference tournament victory to reach the NCAA Tournament.
While wins have been hard to come by, one of these teams will walk away victorious on Wednesday. It’s the first of two matchups between these teams as the regular season nears a conclusion.
The Nittany Lions are 3.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at 149.5 points.
Here’s my prediction, preview and pick for Wednesday’s Rutgers vs. Penn State matchup.
Rutgers vs. Penn State prediction, preview
Despite playing over a dozen conference games each, these teams are meeting for the first time this season. This round will be on Penn State’s home court, giving the Nittany Lions the advantage here.
After an 8-1 start to the season, Penn State collapsed once Big Ten play began. It lost its first 10 conference games, which ruined a promising start to the year. The Nittany Lions are in last place in the conference with a 2-13 Big Ten record. The only thing going for them is their strength of schedule ranks 51st in Division I.
The Big Ten features some of the best college basketball teams in the country, so it’s not surprising to see Rutgers and Penn State fall flat this season. The Scarlet Knights are 3-11 in the conference with wins over Oregon, Northwestern and Maryland. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions have beaten Minnesota and Washington.
All five of those opponents are among the worst teams in the conference. Neither team has a defining conference win, so home-court advantage could be the difference maker in this one.
Rutgers vs. Penn State pick, best bet
Watching a struggling team play isn’t usually fun, but watching two struggling teams play each other is cinema. It often means close matchups and back-and-forth affairs.
That should be the case in this game as Penn State is favored by 3.5 points at home. The home-court advantage, however, will be the reason the Nittany Lions pull through with a victory.