Texas vs Penn State Pick – Basketball Predictions & Odds 3/18/23
Penn State Nittany Lions (23-13) vs. Texas Longhorns (27-8)
March 18, 2023 7:45 pm EDT
The Line: Texas Longhorns -5.5 / Penn State Nittany Lions +5.5; Over/Under: +140.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Penn State Nittany Lions and Texas Longhorns meet Saturday in the college basketball NCAA Tournament Second Round at the Wells Fargo Arena. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are averaging 72.4 points on 46.7 percent shooting and allowing 68.2 points on 43.4 percent shooting. Jalen Pickett is averaging 17.9 points and 6.7 assists, while Seth Lundy is averaging 14.4 points and 6.3 rebounds. Andrew Funk is the third double-digit scorer and Camren Wynter is dishing 2 assists. The Penn State Nittany Lions are shooting 38.9 percent from beyond the arc and 73.7 percent from the free throw line. The Penn State Nittany Lions are allowing 34.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 29.6 rebounds per game.
The Texas Longhorns are averaging 78.8 points on 47.1 percent shooting and allowing 68.7 points on 42.7 percent shooting. Marcus Carr is averaging 15.9 points and 3 rebounds, while Sir’Jabari Rice is averaging 12.6 points and 3.6 rebounds. Timmy Allen is the third double-digit scorer and Tyrese Hunter is grabbing 2.9 rebounds. The Texas Longhorns are shooting 34.5 percent from beyond the arc and 74.9 percent from the free throw line. The Texas Longhorns are allowing 33.3 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 31.5 rebounds per game.
The Nittany Lions are 4-0-1 ATS in their last 5 Saturday games and 37-18-2 ATS in their last 57 games overall. The Longhorns are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 neutral site games and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games overall. The over is 15-7-1 in Nittany Lions last 23 overall. The under is 6-0 in Longhorns last 6 overall.
The Penn State Nittany Lions have been a scrappy bunch all year that just finds ways to hang around, but they rely on the three ball a little too much for my liking against quality teams. The Texas Longhorns were my pick to win the championship, and their defensive effort is good enough to take away what the opponent does best. Penn State won’t be able to step into 13 threes like it did against Texas A&M. I’ll lay the reasonable number with the Longhorns.
