Penn State vs Loyola-MD 11/10/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Loyola Greyhounds and the Penn State Nittany Lions meet Thursday in college basketball action from Bryce Jordan Center. Loyola is fresh off an opener loss to DePaul. As for Penn State, they’re 1-0 after a blowout opener win versus Winthrop. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.

Loyola improved their record last year but still finished below .500 at 14-16 overall and 8-10 in Patriot League play. That result put the Greyhounds near the middle of the conference standings. Loyola’s season ended with a loss to Boston U in the conference tourney. 

In their first action of the year, the Greyhounds matched up against DePaul. Loyola was outpaced 38-25 in the first half and limped to a 72-66 loss. Kenny Jones was the top team scorer on 20 points, three boards and two assists. 

Over on the Penn State side, they’re coming off a 14-17 overall record in 2021-22 with a 7-13 mark in Big Ten games. Penn State bested only Northwestern, Nebraska and Minnesota in the standings, and lost to Purdue in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney. 

Matched up against Winthrop on Monday in their season opener, the Nittany Lions didn’t have much trouble. Penn State was up 44-32 by the break and cruised to a 93-68 result. Jalen Pickett managed 23 points, and Andrew Funk added 22 more.

PICK: I’m likely staying Penn State. The Lions shot well in their opener win versus Winthrop, with 55 percent from the field (33-of-60) and 47.4 from 3-point range (18-of-38). Penn State out-rebounded Winthrop 31-25 and also notched 24 team assists in a solid all-around effort. As for Loyola, they got better in the second half against DePaul and ultimately collected 37 rebounds. That said, I don’t think they’ll be able to keep up if the Nittany Lions get going.