Penn State Nittany Lions vs Purdue Boilermakers Prediction, 1/10/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Purdue Boilermakers

Date: Saturday, January 10, 2026

Location: Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, IN

TV: BTN

The Penn State Nittany Lions (9-6) are hitting the road to Mackey Arena on Saturday where they will take on the Purdue Boilermakers (14-1).

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced off with Michigan and took a loss by a score of 74-72 in their last contest. Regarding personal fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up with 19 and Michigan totaled 20 personal fouls. They also converted 8 out of their 27 tries from long range. Michigan ended up going 73.7% when shooting free throws by knocking down 14 of 19 shots. Furthermore, Michigan collected 33 rebounds (7 offensive, 26 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Michigan recorded 15 dimes and had 3 steals in this contest. Pertaining to defense, Penn State let their opponent shoot 45.6% from the floor on 26 out of 57 shooting. They also distributed 10 dimes for the matchup while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and getting 7 steals. Regarding getting rebounds, they collected 38 with 14 of them being on the offensive end. At the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions converted 18 of their 23 tries for a rate of 78.3%. Penn State walked away from the contest with a 34.8% FG percentage (23 of 66) and converted 8 of their 30 shots from 3-point land.

Ivan Juric is someone who was a major contributor for the game. He ended up with 20 points on 6 of 13 shooting. He played 24 mins and also snagged 4 rebounds. He ended up going 46.2% from the field and also distributed 1 assist.

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Penn State will play this game with a mark of 9-6 so far this season. They cough up possession 9.1 times per contest and as a group are committing 15.3 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Penn State is pulling down 31.9 boards per game and has racked up 202 dimes this season, which is 267th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Nittany Lions are hitting 32.8% on shots from downtown (112 of 341) and 72.2% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 77.7 pts per game (179th in college hoops) while connecting on 46.7% from the field.

On defense, the Nittany Lions are forcing 13.9 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 17.9 personal fouls. They relinquish 35.9% on shots from beyond the arc and they rank 207th in college in PPG allowed (74.2). The Nittany Lions are allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 47.5% (406 of 855) and they concede 33.5 boards per contest as a squad. They currently rank 281st in college hoops in giving up assists with 230 surrendered this season.

In their last game, the Purdue Boilermakers got the victory with a final of 81-73 when they faced Washington. With respect to attacking the glass, Purdue allowed Washington to get 22 in all (6 on the offensive glass). They finished 30.8% from 3-point land via 8 out of 26 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 12 at the free throw line (75.0%). The Boilermakers permitted Washington to convert 28 of their 63 attempts from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 44.4% in this matchup. When this game wrapped up, the Boilermakers walked away from this one shooting 34 out of 60 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 56.7%. In reference to shooting from distance, Purdue buried 5 of their 15 attempts (33.3%). They were able to knock down 8 of them for a percentage of 66.7%. Washington was called for 18 fouls for the game which got the Boilermakers to the free throw line for a total of 12 attempts. They coughed up the ball 14 times, while getting 6 steals for the matchup. The Boilermakers were able to snag 24 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive boards totaling 34 in this matchup.

Braden Smith was important for the Boilermakers in this game. He converted 10 of 15 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 66.7%, and earned 1 rebound. He scored 23 points in his 28 mins on the hardwood and tallied 7 assists for the game.

Purdue has a record of 14-1 for the season. The Boilermakers are responsible for committing 14.5 personal fouls every game while shooting 75.4% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 20.7 times per contest (5th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 10.3 times per contest. Purdue has accounted for 1,290 pts for the campaign (86.0 per contest) and they average 39.6 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Boilermakers are shooting 51.3% from the floor, which ranks them 17th in the country.

The Boilermakers on defense are ranked 43rd in college in PPG allowed with 66.9. They are able to force 10.9 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.1% from the floor (48th in college). The Purdue defense gives up 29.4% on 3-point attempts (121 of 411) and opponents are connecting on 71.4% of their shots from the free throw line. They relinquish 13.5 assists and 29.0 boards every game, which is ranked 197th and 5th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Penn State

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