The No. 2 seed Northwestern Wildcats will face the No. 10 seed Penn State Nittany Lions in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals on Friday night. Northwestern wrapped up the regular season with a 65-53 win at Rutgers last Sunday, snapping a three-game losing streak. Penn State advanced to the quarterfinals with a 79-76 win against No. 7 seed Illinois on Thursday.
Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. ET. The Wildcats are favored by 2 points in the latest Northwestern vs. Penn State odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under is set at 130.5. Before entering any Penn State vs. Northwestern picks, you’ll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters conference tournament week 76-51 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,200 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Northwestern vs. Penn State. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Northwestern vs. Penn State:
- Northwestern vs. Penn State spread: Northwestern -2
- Northwestern vs. Penn State over/under: 130.5 points
- Northwestern vs. Penn State money line: Northwestern -135, Penn State +115
- Northwestern vs. Penn State picks: See picks here
Featured Game | Northwestern Wildcats vs. Penn State Nittany Lions
Why Northwestern can cover
Northwestern has a rest advantage on Friday night after earning a double bye by finishing second in the regular season standings. Chris Collins was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year after leading his team to a school-record 12 conference wins and the school’s first share of second place since 1959. The Wildcats beat a No.1 team for the first time ever when they took down Purdue last month.
Senior point guard Boo Buie earned first-team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 17.2 points and 4.5 assists per game. Senior guard Chase Audige, who averages 14.1 points per game, shared the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award with Caleb McConnell from Rutgers. They have covered the spread in seven of their last nine games coming into this matchup.
Why Penn State can cover
Penn State has won six of its last seven games to get into the NCAA Tournament picture, beating Illinois for the third time this season on Thursday. The Nittany Lions are led by All-Big Ten guard Jalen Pickett, who averages 18.0 points, 7.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. Grad transfer Andrew Funk leads the conference with 97 3-pointers, hitting six more against Illinois in the second round.
The Nittany Lions picked up an overtime win against Northwestern in the lone regular-season meeting between these teams, with Camren Wynter knocking down a 3-pointer with less than one second remaining. He scored 24 points on 9 of 15 shooting, drilling 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Penn State has won seven of the last eight meetings between these teams, covering the spread in six of those games.
How to make Northwestern vs. Penn State picks
The model has simulated Penn State vs. Northwestern 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is leaning Over, and it’s also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in over 60% of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Northwestern vs. Penn State? And which side of the spread hits over 60% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is 76-51 on its top-rated college basketball picks this season, and find out.
