Penn State Nittany Lions vs Pittsburgh Panthers Prediction, 11/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Pittsburgh Panthers

Date: Sunday, November 8, 2026

Location: The Palestra in Philadelphia, PA

TV: ESPN+

The Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0) are en route to The Palestra on Sunday where they will attempt to beat the Pittsburgh Panthers (2-0).

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced Chattanooga and went home with a win by a final score of 97-93 in their last contest. In the matter of personal fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up with 21 and Chattanooga totaled 33 personal fouls. They converted 11 of 30 attempts from 3-point range. Chattanooga finished the game shooting 60.9% from the charity stripe by burying 14 of their 23 shots. In addition, Chattanooga totaled 26 boards (10 offensive, 16 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Chattanooga totaled 23 assists and had 6 steals for this game. In relation to defense, Penn State allowed the other team to shoot 51.5% from the floor on 34 of 66 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists for this contest as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and having 7 steals. With regard to rebounding, they compiled a total of 35 with 12 of them being on the offensive end. From the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions buried 43 of their 49 shots for a percentage of 87.8%. Penn State finished the game with a 45.3% FG percentage (24 out of 53) and knocked down 6 out of their 23 shots from 3-point land.

Josh Reed is a player who was a factor in this matchup. He notched 25 points on 5 out of 8 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 33 minutes and also snagged 5 rebounds. He finished the game at 62.5% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out.

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Penn State comes into this game with a mark of 2-0 this year. They are averaging 97.0 pts per game (52nd in the country) while hitting 50.8% from the floor. The Nittany Lions are connecting on 23.8% on three-point shots (10 of 42) and 82.1% from the free throw line. As a team, Penn State is pulling in 42.5 rebounds per game and has racked up 34 assists for the season, which ranks 104th in college in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 11.5 times per game and as a unit they commit 19.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Nittany Lions are forcing their opponents into 14.0 turnovers per game and they draw 28.0 personal fouls. They concede 28.8% from 3-point land and they are ranked 219th in the country in PPG allowed (75.0). The Nittany Lions are allowing a field goal percentage of 45.7% (58 of 127) and they relinquish 29.0 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 326th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 35 surrendered on the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Pittsburgh Panthers got the win with a final of 80-61 against Buffalo. The Panthers corralled 29 defensive boards and 16 offensive boards for a total of 45 in the matchup. They turned it over 11 times, while earning 8 steals in the game. Buffalo committed 33 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Panthers to the free throw line for a total of 49 shots. They were able to make 35 of those for a rate of 71.4%. With regard to shots from beyond the perimeter, Pittsburgh knocked down 5 out of 23 attempts (21.7%). At the conclusion of this game, the Panthers went 20 for 54 from the field which gave them a percentage of 37.0%. The Panthers allowed Buffalo to knock down 18 of their 51 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 35.3% in this contest. They finished 28.1% from three-point range by shooting 9 of 32 and ended up going 16 of 22 at the charity stripe (72.7%). In the matter of team rebounding, Pittsburgh allowed Buffalo to collect 23 in total (3 on the offensive side).

Baye Ndongo ended up being important for the Panthers in this contest. He converted 5 of 10 in the game for a rate of 50.0%, and had 21 rebounds. He had 23 points in his 33 minutes on the court and had 1 assist in this contest.

Pittsburgh has a record of 2-0 on the campaign. The Panthers are responsible for committing 19.0 personal fouls every game and they shoot 71.2% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 16.0 times per game (163rd in D-1) and they lose possession via turnover 10.5 times per contest. Pittsburgh has accounted for 175 points on the campaign and they snag 46.5 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Panthers are connecting on 43.7% from the field, which ranks 224th in college.

The Panthers on the defensive side of the court are 78th in D-1 in PPG surrendered with 59.0. They are forcing their opponents into 17.0 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 33.3% from the field (47th in college hoops). The Pittsburgh defense allows 28.6% on 3-pointers (16 of 56) and opponents are making 71.4% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 8.0 assists and 30.5 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 39th and 88th in those defensive categories.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Penn State

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