
Michigan vs Penn State Prediction 1/27/25 College Basketball Picks Today
Penn State (13-7) vs. Michigan (14-5)
January 27, 2025 6:30 pm EDT
The Line: Michigan -8.5; Over/Under: 159.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines meet Monday in college basketball action from Crisler Center. Here’s a Michigan vs Penn State prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Michigan vs Penn State pick.
Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Preview
The Nittany Lions got off to a very solid start this year, cruising through their first 14 games. Since the calendar flipped to 2025 however, Penn State has struggled mightily amid some tough Big Ten matchups. The Lions kicked things off with a 12-2 run, falling to only Clemson and Rutgers in that time. Otherwise, it was wins over Binghamton, UMBC, St Francis PA, Virginia Tech, Fort Wayne, Fordham, Buffalo, Purdue, Coppin State, Drexel, Penn, and Northwestern in succession. Since then, however, Penn State has fallen on hard times with a 1-5 stretch. The lone win came versus Rutgers; the losses otherwise were against Indiana, Illinois, Oregon, Michigan State, and Iowa for a 13-7 overall run through the first 20 games.
In the Iowa outing on Friday, the Nittany Lions held a 43-38 deficit after one half. Penn State got better from there and hit a 37-33 advantage but ended up falling in a tough one 76-75 by the game’s end. Tops in scoring was Nick Kern, who posted 18 points with seven boards and two assists in the defeat. Yanic Konan Niederhauser added 13 points with four rebounds and two steals, while Freddie Dilione put up 10 points with seven rebounds and two steals.
Michigan Wolverines Betting Preview
Over on the Wolverines’ side, they got off to a pretty solid start themselves. Michigan has been on a good run all season—aside from a couple of brief stints from which they recovered quickly. In any case, The Wolverines posted an 8-3 run in their opening 11 outings, losing to Wake Forest, Arkansas, and Oklahoma along the way. The wins otherwise came versus Cleveland State, TCU, Miami OH, Tarleton State, Virginia Tech, Xavier, Wisconsin, and Iowa. Following wins over Fort Wayne, Western Kentucky, USC, UCLA, and Washington, the Wolverines hit a 1-2 run. The lone win in that trio was over Northwestern. Otherwise, it was losses to Purdue and Minnesota for a 14-5 overall run through the first 19 outings this year.
Matched up against Purdue on Friday, the Wolverines hit a rough 51-26 deficit in the first half. Michigan didn’t get any closer in the second on a 40-38 deficit and lost in blowout fashion 91-64. Leading the team in scoring during the losing effort was Vladislav Goldin with 14 points, six boards, and two assists. Roddy Gayle (four assists), Tre Donaldson (four rebounds), and Nimari Burnett (five rebounds; two assists) each scored 11 points in the defeat.
Why the Michigan Wolverines will win
- Michigan has won each of its last nine games at Crisler Center.
- Penn State has lost five of its last six games.
- Michigan has won the first half in each of its last eight night games against non-AP-ranked opponents.
Why the Penn State Nittany Lions will win
- Penn State has won each of its last six Monday games.
- Michigan has lost 15 of its last 18 night games against the Big Ten Conference.
- Michigan has lost the first half in eight of its last 10 night games against the Big Ten Conference.
Michigan vs Penn State Prediction
I’ll lean toward Penn State, but you could call this game either way. It should be one of the highlights of the Monday college basketball slate, as both teams are coming off losses and need some positive momentum. Penn State shot well (49.1 percent) from the field in their defeat by Iowa, but notched just 5-of-22 (22.7 percent) from outside and allowed the Hawkeyes to hit 50 percent from the floor themselves. During this current 1-5 run, the Nittany Lions have continued to score well (outside of the 52 points in the Illinois game), with 71 or more points in five of those six.
As for Michigan, they shot pretty poorly (37 percent) in the Purdue loss, giving up 54.8 percent to the Boilermakers on the other side. The 22 turnovers for a whopping 29 Purdue points didn’t help matters either. The Wolverines had posted 80 or more points in 10 straight games prior to that, so they’ve generally had few issues putting up points. Penn State is going to have to step on the gas offensively in order to keep a cover pace here, but I think they can pull it off.