Purdue vs Penn State Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/12/23
Penn State Nittany Lions (21-12) vs. Purdue Boilermakers (28-5)
March 12, 2023 3:30 pm EDT
The Line: Purdue Boilermakers -5.5 / Penn State Nittany Lions +5.5; Over/Under: -
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The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Purdue Boilermakers meet Sunday in Big Ten Tournament college basketball action from United Center. Penn State is 22-12 overall this year. The Nittany Lions beat Indiana in tournament activity on Saturday. As for Purdue, they’re 28-5 overall this year. The Boilermakers beat Ohio State in their tournament matchup on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Penn State Nittany Lions
Penn State had a shaky start to the year, going 14-10 through 24 games. The Lions finished off the year at 5-2 with wins over Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio State, Northwestern and Maryland. After that Penn State beat Illinois 79-76 on Thursday and Northwestern 67-65 on Friday in tournament games.
On Saturday in the tournament matchup versus Indiana, the Lions were up 34-26 by halftime. Penn State was outscored 47-43 in the second but held on for the 77-73 victory. Tops in scoring was Jalen Pickett with 28 points and eight rebounds.
Purdue Boilermakers
Over on the Purdue side, they posted a nice 22-2 run through their first 24 outings this year. The Boilermakers closed out on a 4-3 run with wins over Iowa, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Illinois, then beat Rutgers 70-65 in their first game of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday.
In the Saturday tournament game versus Ohio State, the Boilermakers were up 42-34 by the break. Purdue kept it rolling with a 38-32 stretch from there and won 80-66. Leading the team in scoring was Zach Edey with 32 points and 14 rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll stick with Purdue in this one. The Boilermakers dispatched a scrappy Ohio State team pretty easily on Saturday, shooting 48.3 percent from the field with a 38-27 rebounding advantage and just seven turnovers. Purdue has now won four straight games, scoring 70 or more points in each of their last three. These teams have met twice already this year, with Purdue taking the win each time. First was a 76-63 road victory on January 8, then an 80-60 win at Mackey Arena on February 1. The Nittany Lions have been a scrappy team through this four-game win streak, but I don’t think they’ll keep pace with Purdue if the Boilermakers play to their capabilities.
