Michigan State Spartans vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 12/13/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Saturday, December 13, 2025

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: BTN

The Michigan State Spartans (8-1) are traveling to Bryce Jordan Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Penn State Nittany Lions (8-2).

The Michigan State Spartans played Duke and went home with a loss by a final score of 66-60 in their last game. Regarding personal fouls, the Spartans walked away with 15 and Duke finished the game with 18 personal fouls. They also buried 9 of 29 tries from long range. Duke finished shooting 65.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 15 of their 23 attempts. Additionally, Duke collected 41 boards (8 offensive, 33 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Duke recorded 12 dimes and had 5 steals in this matchup. In reference to the defense, Michigan State allowed the other team to shoot 38.2% from the floor on 21 out of 55 shooting. They also recorded 18 dimes in this matchup while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. With respect to hauling in boards, they compiled a total of 41 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. At the free throw line, the Spartans made 10 of 14 attempts for a percentage of 71.4%. Michigan State finished having earned a 31.8% FG percentage (21 out of 66) and knocked down 8 out of their 22 shots from 3-point land.

Carson Cooper is a player who was a factor for this contest. He walked away with 16 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He played 32 minutes and totaled 16 boards. He ended up shooting 53.8% from the floor and earned 1 assist.

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Michigan State will enter this contest with a record of 8-1 on the season. They lose possession via turnover 10.9 times per contest and as a group are committing 16.4 personal fouls every game. As a team, Michigan State is snagging 41.8 boards per game and is sitting with 173 assists for the year, which is 48th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Spartans are shooting 33.7% on shots from downtown (61 of 181) and 72.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 76.6 pts per game (201st in the country) on 45.5% from the floor.

Defensively, the Spartans are forcing their opponents into 12.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 18.7 fouls. They rank 47th in college in allowing assists to their opponents with 102 surrendered so far this season. The Spartans defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 38.0% (186 of 489) and they surrender 29.9 rebounds per contest as a squad. They relinquish 28.6% from 3-point land and they are 8th in college hoops in PPG allowed (61.0).

The last time they took the hardwood, the Penn State Nittany Lions walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 113-72 when they played Indiana. The Nittany Lions corralled 13 defensive rebounds and 4 offensive boards for a total of 17 in this contest. They also turned the ball over 14 times, while getting 6 steals in the matchup. Indiana had 20 fouls in this contest which took the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for a total of 22 attempts. They were able to bury 15 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 68.2%. With regard to 3-pointers, Penn State converted 5 of their 16 tries (31.3%). In all, the Nittany Lions finished 26 out of 56 from the floor which had them sitting at 46.4%. The Nittany Lions permitted Indiana to make 42 out of their 61 tries from the floor which gave them a percentage of 68.9% for the matchup. They wrapped up this game 54.8% from behind the 3-point line via 17 of 31 and finished the contest at 12 of 15 at the charity stripe (80.0%). In regard to rebounds, Penn State permitted Indiana to get 27 in total (3 offensive).

Kayden Mingo ended up having an impact for the Nittany Lions in this matchup. He made 6 out of 11 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 54.5%, and accounted for 2 rebounds. He earned 19 points in his 31 mins on the court and added 2 assists for the contest.

Penn State has a record of 8-2 so far this season. The Nittany Lions are responsible for committing 13.9 fouls every game and they connect on 71.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists is at 14.0 times per game (213th in the country) and they turn it over 8.8 times per game. Penn State has earned 820 points this year (82.0 per game) and they pull down 31.9 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Nittany Lions are shooting 50.3% from the field, which is 34th in D-1.

The Penn State defense surrenders 35.4% on shots from distance (91 of 257) and their opponents are connecting on 77.9% of their free throw shots. They give up 16.4 dimes and 30.5 rebounds per game, which ranks them 328th and 38th in those defensive categories. The Nittany Lions on defense are ranked 215th in college in points allowed per contest with 74.3. They are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 47.6% from the floor (335th in Division 1).

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Penn State

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