Northwestern Wildcats vs Penn State Nittany Lions Preview

Penn State Nittany LionsNorthwestern Wildcats
Jan 1, 7:00 PM | Welsh-Ryan Arena

Penn State Nittany Lions vs Northwestern Wildcats Odds

8-6TEAM RECORD10-3



A key college battle sees the visiting Nittany Lions travelling to Northwestern Sunday to take on the Wildcats on Sunday.

The Wildcats currently sports a 10-3 record overall in NCAAB action, and have posted a corresponding betting slate of 3-5 ATS. The Nittany Lions are 8-6 and 3-5-1 ATS. Betting totals have seen the Wildcats produce a 7-1 OVER/UNDER record on the season, while the Nittany Lions have gone 3-6 against the number.



View Penn State vs Northwestern Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
College basketball odds makers opened the Wildcats as 8.5-point favorites in this matchupl.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
This game matches up the No. 164 (Wildcats) and the No. 193 (Nittany Lions) teams in the league, according to our current NCAAB power rank. A 72-67 result in favor of the Wildcats has been projected by the scores prediction engine.



How They Match Up:
Offensively, the game matches up Northwestern's No. 110 nationally ranked offense (72.3 points per game) against a Nittany Lions defense that sits as the No. 77 at 62.4 PPG. The Wildcats have been averaging 44.9% from the field, more than the Nittany Lions have managed so far this season (39.3% on average).

Defensively, Penn State features the nation's No. 64-rated defense on the road, allowing 64 points per game. Northwestern, meanwhile, comes in at No. 156 nationally in scoring at home.

Last time out for Penn State, they were a 71-53 loser as they battled Michigan on the road. They failed to cover in the match as a 10.5-point underdog. The Nittany Lions got 20 points from Tim Frazier, but it was Michigan that prevailed in a 71-53 final on Thursday at Crisler Arena.

Last time out for Northwestern, they were an 87-54 loser as they battled Ohio State on the road. They failed to cover in the match as a 16.5-point underdog. Northwestern was run off the court by the Buckeyes on Wednesday as Ohio State routed them 87-54 at Value City Arena.


Penn State Nittany Lions Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing Purdue are 2-8
After playing Michigan are 3-7
After a loss are 6-4

Northwestern Wildcats Trends:
When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Illinois are 2-8
After playing Ohio State are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5


A few Nittany Lions at Wildcats trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Penn State's last 5 games on the road
Penn State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Northwestern
Penn State is 2-3-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Penn State is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Northwestern is 11-1 SU in its last 12 games at home
Northwestern is 10-3 SU in its last 13 games
Northwestern is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Penn State
Northwestern is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Penn State


Next up:
Penn State home to Purdue, Thursday, January 5
Northwestern home to Illinois, Wednesday, January 4

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