Penn State vs Northwestern | Prediction & Pick

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Penn State Nittany Lions @ Northwestern Wildcats

Odds: Penn State +4, Northwestern -4

The Nittany Lions are making the most of the talent at their disposal but the odds makers still don’t think that’s enough.

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Coach Ed DeChellis doesn’t have blinding talent or ability at most spots on the floor and he tends to milk the most out of what he has. What he does have is one star player, point guard Talor Battle, but the rest of his starting five is composed of gruntmen who do a lot of dirty work, play hard defense, and exhibit a blue-collar mentality at all times.

Penn State has fought to the middle of the Big Ten, not enough to earn an NCAA Tournament berth but certainly to the extent that it can rightly expect an NIT bid.

For Northwestern, it’s going to be yet another season – the 73rd in a row – without an NCAA bid. The only power-conference team without an NCAA Tournament appearance is locked into the same deficiencies and inadequacies it has borne over the past seven decades.

The Wildcats don’t own enough raw talent to outperform Big Ten rivals, and coach Bill Carmody, who has had a full decade in which to get the program over the hump, has not been able to push the right buttons. Moreover, Carmody had a spat with star post player Kevin Coble before the season, an acrimonious encounter that led Coble to bolt the team. Clearly, it was a tall enough order with Coble and without him, the climb has become even steeper.

Northwestern very well could have been a tournament team with Coble on the floor, but without him, the Wildcats have been (typically) shorthanded and under-resourced.

Northwestern doesn’t have an imposing center who can dominate near the rim. Not enough Wildcats can create their own shot against tough defense. What does that all add up to? Penn State is going to rough up Northwestern.

The Wildcats will hit some threes at times – probably more than the 2-for-21 they made from beyond the arc in the first meeting between the teams – but the Nittany Lions deserve a slight edge in this matchup of NIT teams. The key to the matchup should be rebounding, where Penn State outrebounded Northwestern 33-21. That edge combined with defense should lead to a Penn State victory. Take them with the points in this spot.

Pick: Penn State +4

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