Penn State Nittany Lions vs Virginia Tech Hokies Prediction, 12/8/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Virginia Tech Hokies

Date: Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Location: Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, VA

TV: ESPNU

Odds/Point Spread: Penn State (+6)

The Virginia Tech Hokies (4-0) host the Penn State Nittany Lions (2-1) at Cassell Coliseum on Tuesday. Penn State opens this matchup as 6-point dogs. The over/under is set at 143.

Penn State comes into this one with a mark of 2-1 on the season. They cough up possession 13.7 times per game and as a unit they commit 22.0 fouls per game. As a unit, Penn State is collecting 38.0 boards per game and has accounted for 41 assists so far this season, which ranks 169th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Nittany Lions are shooting 34.4% on 3-pointers (33 of 96) and 78.8% from the free throw line. They are averaging 83.3 pts per game (57th in college hoops) while going 43.3% from the floor. When they are on defense, the Nittany Lions are able to force 17.7 turnovers every game while drawing 17.3 personal fouls. They are 148th in the country in giving up assists to the opposition with 40 relinquished so far this year. The Nittany Lions defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 47.1% (80 of 170) and they surrender 35.0 boards per game as a basketball team. They relinquish 32.3% on 3-point shots and they are 241st in college hoops in PPG allowed (77.3).

The Penn State Nittany Lions played the Seton Hall Pirates and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 98-92 in their last game. Penn State ended the contest with a 45.7% field goal percentage (32 out of 70) and converted 13 of their 34 shots from beyond the perimeter. When they shot from the free throw line, the Nittany Lions converted 15 of 19 tries for a percentage of 78.9%. In relation to grabbing boards, they earned 32 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 20 assists in this matchup as well as getting 5 steals and 2 blocks. When talking about defense, Penn State allowed the other team to go 45.7% from the floor on 32 of 70. Seton Hall totaled 19 assists and 10 steals for the matchup. Furthurmore, the Pirates grabbed 33 rebounds (10 offensive, 23 defensive) and got 2 rejections. Seton Hall finished shooting 65.7% at the free throw line by converting 23 of their 35 attempts. They also converted 7 of 23 tries from three-point range.

Seth Lundy is someone who played a lot for the contest. He finished with 23 points on 9 out of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 38 mins played and pulled down 7 boards. Lundy ended up shooting 56.3% from the floor and also recorded 2 dimes. An additional guy that was a factor in the matchup for the Nittany Lions was Myreon Jones. He collected 2 rebounds and earned 2 dimes. He finished shooting 29.4% from the field for this contest by connecting on 5-of-17 (17 points). When this game wrapped up, Jones played for 28 minutes.

Virginia Tech has a mark of 4-0 this year. In terms of offensive execution, the Hokies are hitting on 45.8% from the field, which ranks them 174th in the nation. Virginia Tech has accounted for 298 points this season (74.5 per game) and they average 36.5 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 13.5 times per contest (164th in college basketball) and they turn the ball over 11.5 times per contest. The Hokies are committing 17.3 personal fouls per contest and they hit 73.2% from the charity stripe. The Hokies defensively are ranked 68th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 62.5. The Virginia Tech defense gives up 32.9% on shots from beyond the arc (25 of 76) and their opponents are converting on 70.0% of their free throw attempts. They give up 8.8 assists and 30.5 boards every game, which is 35th and 38th in those defensive categories. They have forced 11.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 39.3% from the field (89th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the court, the Virginia Tech Hokies took home the win by a final score of 64-57 when they faced the VMI Keydets. The Hokies earned 30 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards totaling 44 in this contest. They stuffed 2 attempts while recording 3 steals for the game. The Keydets committed 20 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Hokies to the charity stripe for a total of 27 tries. They were able to convert 18 of the free throw tries for a rate of 66.7%. In regard to shooting from downtown, Virginia Tech made 4 out of their 27 tries (14.8%). Overall, the Hokies ended up going 21 out of 60 from the field which had them shooting 35.0%. The Hokies allowed the Keydets to convert 21 of their 57 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.8% for the contest. They shot 29.2% from behind the 3-point line by shooting 7 of 24 and ended up shooting 8 of 12 at the free throw line (66.7%). With respect to attacking the glass, Virginia Tech permitted VMI to snag 24 overall (5 on the offensive side).

Tyrece Radford ended up being a major contributor for the Hokies in this contest. He knocked down 3 out of 10 for the game for a rate of 30.0%, which earned him 13 points. Radford collected 6 rebounds in his 34 minutes and had 2 assists for the game. One more player that ended up playing a role for Virginia Tech was Justyn Mutts. He totaled 10 points in 29 minutes on the hardwood by going 5 out of 9 shooting for this contest. Mutts ended up shooting 55.6% from the field while also contributing 6 assists and 9 boards.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Penn State (+6)

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