Pittsburgh Panthers vs Northwestern Wildcats Prediction, 12/9/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Pittsburgh Panthers vs Northwestern Wildcats

Date: Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Location: Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, IL

TV: ESPN2

Odds/Point Spread: Pittsburgh (+5)

Welsh-Ryan Arena is the venue where and the Northwestern Wildcats (2-0) will take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-1) on Wednesday. The odds on this game have Northwestern as 5-point favorites. The over/under opens at 143.

Pittsburgh will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 2-1 so far this season. They cough up possession 14.7 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 18.3 fouls every game. As a team, Pittsburgh is snagging 37.3 boards per contest and is sitting with 59 assists this season, which ranks 87th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Panthers are hitting 34.7% on shots from beyond the arc (25 of 72) and 63.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 80.7 points per game (70th in the nation) while connecting on 49.4% from the field. On defense, the Panthers are forcing 15.0 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.3 fouls. They rank 189th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 48 surrendered on the year. The Panthers defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 43.3% (77 of 178) and they surrender 33.3 boards per contest as a group. They are giving up 30.6% on 3-point attempts and they rank 164th in D-1 in opponents points per game (71.0).

The Pittsburgh Panthers faced the Northern Illinois Huskies and went home with a win by a final score of 89-59 in their last contest. Pittsburgh ended having earned a 50.0% FG percentage (30 out of 60) and knocked down 14 of 29 shots from beyond the arc. At the free throw line, the Panthers buried 15 of their 27 shots for a rate of 55.6%. Regarding pulling down boards, they compiled 36 with 12 of them being of the offensive variety. They also doled out 26 dimes in this game as well as getting 9 steals and 4 blocks. In relation to defending, Pittsburgh let their opponent shoot 50.0% from the field on 30 out of 60. Northern Illinois totaled 14 assists and 2 steals in this game. In addition, the Huskies totaled 29 rebounds (8 offensive, 21 defensive) and added 4 rejections. Northern Illinois finished 75.0% when shooting free throws by converting 12 of 16 attempts. They knocked down 7 out of their 18 shots from distance.

Au'Diese Toney is a guy who had an impact for the matchup. He was able to score 15 points on 4 out of 8 shooting. He saw the court for 28 minutes and also totaled 3 rebounds. Toney finished shooting 50.0% from the field and also distributed 5 dimes. Another guy that saw the court a lot in the game for the Panthers was Justin Champagnie. He collected 10 rebounds and also had 3 dimes. He finished the contest at 61.5% from the floor in the matchup via 8-of-13 (22 points). At the conclusion of this game, Champagnie was on the hardwood for 27 min.

Northwestern has a record of 2-0 this year. When it comes to executing on offense, the Wildcats are shooting 51.5% from the floor, which has them ranked 84th in Division 1. Northwestern has accumulated 203 points this year (101.5 per game) and they average 52.0 boards per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 26.5 times per game (1st in the nation) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.0 times per game. The Wildcats are responsible for committing 18.5 fouls per game and they go 70.0% from the free throw line. The Wildcats defensively are ranked 27th in the country in points given up per game with 57.5. They have relinquished 11.5 assists and 26.5 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 103rd and 9th in the nation. The Northwestern defense surrenders 22.0% from downtown (11 of 50) and their opposition knocks down 66.7% of their free throw shots. They have forced 11.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 32.0% from the floor (7th in the country).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Northwestern Wildcats got the win with a final of 111-66 against the Chicago State Cougars. The Wildcats were able to pull down 40 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 53 for the contest. They stuffed 2 shots while recording 6 steals in the game. The Cougars committed 24 personal fouls in the game which took the Wildcats to the free throw line for 37 shots. They were able to bury 28 of those for a rate of 75.7%. With regard to 3-point shots, Northwestern converted 11 of 24 tries (45.8%). When the final whistle blew, the Wildcats went 36 out of 70 from the field which had them shooting 51.4%. The Wildcats permitted the Cougars to bury 24 out of 66 attempts from the field which had them shooting 36.4% in this game. They wrapped up this game 26.5% from downtown by going 9 of 34 and ended up shooting 9 of 13 from the charity stripe (69.2%). When discussing rebounds, Northwestern allowed Chicago State to get 23 overall (2 offensive).

Pete Nance ended up being a factor for the Wildcats for the game. He made 6 out of 10 in this contest giving him a rate of 60.0%, which earned him 12 points. Nance collected 8 boards in his 27 mins played and accumulated 3 dimes in this matchup. Another guy that played a role for Northwestern was Miller Kopp. He totaled 16 points in his 26 minutes played via 4 of 5 from the floor in this matchup. Kopp wrapped this one up going 80.0% from the floor while also contributing 2 assists and 2 rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Pittsburgh (+5)

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