Canisius Griffins vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 11/2/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Canisius Golden Griffins vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Monday, November 2, 2026

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: B1G+

Bryce Jordan Center is where the Penn State Nittany Lions (12-20 last year) will try to beat the Canisius Golden Griffins (10-21 last season) on Monday.

The Canisius Golden Griffins stepped onto the hardwood against Quinnipiac and went home with a loss by a final score of 67-63 in their last game. Canisius finished having earned a 38.3% FG percentage (23 out of 60) and made 6 of 26 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Griffins converted 11 of their 16 attempts for a percentage of 68.8%. In terms of pulling down boards, they earned 35 with 8 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 12 assists for this contest in addition to forcing 6 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In the matter of the defense, Canisius allowed their opponent to shoot 35.6% from the field on 21 of 59 shooting. Quinnipiac doled out 7 dimes and had 3 steals for this contest. In addition, Quinnipiac collected 37 boards (10 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Quinnipiac finished the contest at 66.7% at the free throw line by knocking down 20 of their 30 tries. They also made 5 out of their 20 attempts from distance. When discussing fouls, the Griffins finished with 18 and Quinnipiac had 16 fouls.

Bryan Ndjonga is one player who played a role in this contest. He went 46.2% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. He saw the court for 36 minutes played and snagged 8 boards. He scored 17 points on 6 of 13 shooting.

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Canisius heads into this one after finishing with a record of 10-21 last year. They had an average of 62.9 points per contest (362nd in D-1) while going 40.1% from the floor. The Griffins shot 33.1% on 3-pointers (222 of 670) and 71.8% from the free throw line. As a team, Canisius snagged 33.5 rebounds per contest and totaled 372 assists last season, which had them ranked 329th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. They gave up possession 12.7 times per game and as a group committed 17.5 personal fouls per game.

On defense, the Griffins were able to force their opponents into 10.6 turnovers every game while drawing 15.4 fouls. They relinquished 32.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they were 79th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (70.5). The Griffins defense gave up a FG percentage of 44.6% (756 of 1,696) and they surrendered 34.1 boards per game as a team. They were 134th in college in allowing assists 424 surrendered over the course of last season.

The last time they took the court, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a score of 76-66 when they faced Northwestern. The Nittany Lions were able to corral 16 defensive boards and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 21 in this contest. They turned it over 16 times, while recording 2 steals for the matchup. Northwestern was called for 16 fouls in this game which took the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for 14 shots. They were able to knock down 11 of them for a rate of 78.6%. Concerning shots from distance, Penn State made 7 of 16 tries (43.8%). Overall, the Nittany Lions finished shooting 24 out of 47 from the field which gave them a rate of 51.1%. The Nittany Lions permitted Northwestern to make 27 of their 53 tries from the field which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.9% in this matchup. They finished 28.6% from three-point range by going 6 of 21 and ended up going 16 out of 22 at the free throw line (72.7%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, Penn State permitted Northwestern to get 28 overall (10 on the offensive glass).

Ivan Juric pitched in for the Nittany Lions for this game. He totaled 22 points in his 29 minutes on the court and tallied 3 assists for the matchup. He buried 9 of 12 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and accumulated 6 rebounds.

Penn State had a mark of 12-20 last year. The Nittany Lions were responsible for committing 15.5 fouls per game and they connected on 75.0% from the charity stripe. Their rate of earning assists was at 12.7 times per game (272nd in college) and they turned it over 10.5 times per contest. Penn State accounted for 2,358 points last season (73.7 per contest) and they pulled in 29.0 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Nittany Lions shot 46.9% from the floor, which was ranked 70th in the nation.

The Penn State defense surrendered 38.8% on 3-pointers (310 of 799) and their opposition made 76.9% of their free throw attempts. They allowed 9.3 assists and 33.1 boards on a nightly basis, which ranked them 28th and 90th in D-1. The Nittany Lions on the defensive side of the court were 317th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 79.3. They were able to force 11.9 TO's per game and let teams shoot 50.0% from the field (362nd in college).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Penn State

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