Penn State Nittany Lions vs Michigan Wolverines Prediction, 2/5/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Michigan Wolverines

Date: Thursday, February 5, 2026

Location: Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, MI

TV: FS1

The Michigan Wolverines (20-1) will try to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions (10-12) at Crisler Center on Thursday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions played Minnesota and walked away with a win by a score of 77-75 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up with 18 while Minnesota accumulated 13 fouls. They also knocked down 7 out of their 27 attempts from 3-point range. Minnesota walked away from this one shooting 82.4% when shooting free throws by burying 14 of their 17 tries. On top of that, Minnesota pulled down 32 boards (7 offensive, 25 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Minnesota earned 17 assists and had 7 steals for the matchup. In relation to defense, Penn State allowed the other team to go 52.9% from the field on 27 out of 51 shooting. They also doled out 13 assists in this matchup in addition to creating 12 turnovers and having 8 steals. When it comes to grabbing rebounds, they earned 18 with 2 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Nittany Lions knocked down 8 of their 9 attempts for a percentage of 88.9%. Penn State ended the game having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (31 of 62) and converted 7 of their 18 3-point shots.

Melih Tunca is a player who was a major contributor for the game. He scored 6 points on 3 out of 5 shooting. He played for 32 minutes played and also snagged 1 rebound. He went 60.0% from the field and also dished out 3 dimes.

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Penn State enters this contest with a mark of 10-12 on the season. They average 76.5 points per outing (185th in the nation) while connecting on 47.0% from the floor. The Nittany Lions are shooting 33.5% on shots from 3-point land (168 of 502) and 75.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Penn State is pulling down 30.2 boards per game and has 297 dimes on the year, which ranks 238th in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 9.6 times per game and as a unit they commit 15.5 fouls per game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Nittany Lions are forcing their opponents into 12.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.0 personal fouls. They are surrendering 37.8% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 302nd in college in PPG allowed (78.4). The Nittany Lions defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 49.5% (628 of 1,268) and they concede 33.1 boards per game as a unit. They are 338th in Division 1 in giving up assists with 367 surrendered on the year.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Michigan Wolverines got the victory with a final of 83-71 against Michigan State. The Wolverines were able to collect 22 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds for a total of 30 in this contest. They also coughed up the ball 12 times, while recording 2 steals for the game. Michigan State had 22 fouls for the game which got the Wolverines to the free throw line for 26 attempts. They were able to convert 23 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 88.5%. With regard to 3-point shots, Michigan knocked down 8 of their 21 attempts (38.1%). At the conclusion of this game, the Wolverines ended up going 26 for 59 from the field which had them shooting 44.1%. The Wolverines allowed Michigan State to knock down 22 of their 60 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 36.7% for this contest. They went 17.4% from 3-point land by shooting 4 of 23 and ended up going 23 out of 27 at the free throw line (85.2%). Concerning rebounds, Michigan permitted Michigan State to collect 32 overall (13 on the offensive glass).

Yaxel Lendeborg pitched in for the Wolverines for the contest. He totaled 26 points in his 35 minutes on the court and added 1 assist in the matchup. He made 6 out of 13 in this contest giving him a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and totaled 12 rebounds.

Michigan has a mark of 20-1 for the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Wolverines are connecting on 51.2% from the field, which ranks them 11th in college. Michigan has accounted for 1,900 pts this year (90.5 per contest) and they grab 41.7 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 18.8 times per contest (8th in Division 1) and they turn it over 12.7 times per contest. The Wolverines commit 16.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 73.0% from the free throw line.

The Wolverines on the defensive end are ranked 64th in college hoops in points allowed per contest with 68.9. They are forcing their opponents into 12.8 TO's every game and have let teams shoot 36.9% from the floor (2nd in Division 1). The Michigan defense concedes 29.9% on 3-pointers (175 of 585) and opponents are converting on 72.7% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 10.3 assists and 32.5 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 8th and 69th in the country.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Penn State

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