Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 1/20/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Monday, January 20, 2025

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: Peacock

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-8) are en route to Bryce Jordan Center on Monday where they will meet the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-6).

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights took the court against Nebraska and went home with a win by a final score of 85-82 in their last contest. Rutgers finished with a 49.3% FG percentage (33 out of 67) and knocked down 12 of 29 shots from downtown. From the free throw line, the Scarlet Knights made 7 of their 14 tries for a rate of 50.0%. When talking about rebounding, they earned 39 with 17 of them being offensive. They also recorded 16 assists for this contest while forcing 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. When discussing the defense, Rutgers allowed 45.2% from the floor on 28 of 62 shooting. Nebraska recorded 17 dimes and had 5 steals in the matchup. Additionally, Nebraska had 36 boards (14 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Nebraska finished the contest at 63.0% at the free throw line by making 17 of their 27 shots. They knocked down 9 out of their 22 shots from downtown. In the matter of fouls, the Scarlet Knights walked away with 20 and Nebraska had 15 fouls.

Airious Bailey is one guy who was a major factor for the matchup. He accounted for 24 points on 8 out of 16 shooting. He played for 36 mins played and pulled down 11 rebounds. He shot 50.0% from the floor and also totaled 4 dimes.

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Rutgers enters this game with a win-loss mark of 10-8 for the year. They currently have an average of 76.8 points per outing (138th in Division 1) while going 44.9% from the field. The Scarlet Knights are hitting 33.1% on three-point attempts (129 of 390) and 69.2% from the free throw line. As a team, Rutgers is pulling down 37.1 rebounds per game and is sitting with 240 assists on the season, which has them ranked 191st in the nation in terms of passing. They are turning it over 10.7 times per game and as a unit they are committing 16.7 fouls per contest.

Defensively, the Scarlet Knights are forcing their opponents into 11.7 turnovers every game and they draw 20.2 personal fouls. They are conceding 33.9% on 3-point attempts and they are 268th in college hoops in opponents PPG (74.6). The Scarlet Knights are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.6% (497 of 1,115) and they concede 36.8 boards per contest as a squad. They rank 259th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 250 conceded this year.

The last time they took the court, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a score of 90-85 against Michigan State. Concerning rebounding, Penn State permitted Michigan State to get 32 in total (12 offensive). They finished shooting 26.1% from beyond the arc by going 6 out of 23 and ended up shooting 20 out of 24 from the charity stripe (83.3%). The Nittany Lions permitted Michigan State to make 32 of their 68 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.1% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Nittany Lions walked away from this one shooting 28 out of 53 from the floor which gave them a rate of 52.8%. Regarding shooting from downtown, Penn State buried 10 out of their 24 attempts (41.7%). They were able to knock down 19 of them for a percentage of 76.0%. Michigan State committed 21 fouls in this matchup which got the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for a total of 25 attempts. They also turned the ball over 14 times, while getting 4 steals for the contest. The Nittany Lions earned 24 defensive rebounds and 6 offensive boards for a total of 30 for this contest.

Ace Baldwin Jr. ended up being a factor for the Nittany Lions for the game. He buried 4 out of 8 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and added 3 rebounds. He had 20 points in his 40 mins of playing time and had 9 assists for this game.

Penn State has a record of 12-6 so far this season. The Nittany Lions are committing 17.0 personal fouls every game while shooting 75.6% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 17.2 times per game (28th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.8 times per contest. Penn State has accumulated 1,520 pts on the season (84.4 per game) and they collect 36.0 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Nittany Lions are shooting 48.8% from the floor, which is 30th in the country.

The Nittany Lions are ranked 205th in the country in PPG given up with 71.7. They are able to force 16.1 turnovers per game and allow teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (208th in college). The Penn State defense gives up 32.3% on 3-point shots (135 of 418) and their opposition makes 71.9% of their free throw shots. They have surrendered 16.3 dimes and 34.0 rebounds every game, ranking them 346th and 158th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rutgers

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