Penn St Nittany Lions at Wisconsin Badgers, Kohl Center, Madison, WI
Sunday, February 20, 2011, 6:00 pm Eastern, TV: Big Ten Network
Opening Line: Wisconsin -11 1/2
Current Line: Wisconsin -11 1/2
Opening Total: 118 1/2
Current Total: 119 1/2
Money Line: Wisconsin -825 / Penn St +625
Wisconsin and Penn St played January 29 in University Park. The Nittany Lions prevailed in that encounter 56-52. The teams went in opposite directions after that game. Wisconsin won 4 in a row before losing at Purdue Wednesday night 70-62. After beating Wisconsin, Penn St went on a 3 game losing streak, but now has won 2 in a row. Penn St is 14-11 overall and 7-7 in the Big Ten. They are tied for 4th with Illinois and Michigan St. Wisconsin is 19-6 overall and 9-4 in conference, alone in 3rd place 2 games behind Ohio St. Penn St has wins over Indiana, Michigan St, Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, and Minnesota. Penn St beat Minnesota at home Thursday night 66-63. The Nittany Lions have losses to Ole Miss, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Maine, Michigan twice, Purdue twice, Ohio St, Illinois, and Michigan St. Wisconsin also has losses to UNLV, Notre Dame, Illinois, Michigan St, and Purdue. The Badgers have wins over Boston College, NC State, Marquette, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Northwestern, Purdue, Michigan St, Iowa and Ohio St.
Wisconsin leads the overall series against Penn St 25-9. The Nittany Lions’ victory last month snapped a 12 game streak for Wisconsin against Penn St. Wisconsin has beaten Penn St 13 straight times at home. Penn St has not won in Madison since 1995. Penn St is 3-2 ATS in the last 5 meetings, and 4 out of 5 have gone under the total. Wisconsin is undefeated at home this year, and are 150-11 at home under coach Bo Ryan. The Badgers are 8-2 ATS at home this year, and 7-1 ATS at home versus teams with winning records.
Penn St reserve guard Taran Buie has missed the last 12 games due to a suspension. He is not expected to play in this game either. He only plays 15 minutes a game and averages 5.8 points a game. The Nittany Lions are led by guard Talor Battle. He is averaging 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists a game. He leads the team in scoring and assists, and is second in the conference in scoring. Forward Jeff Brooks averages 13.2 points, 6.8 rebounds to lead the team, 1.9 assists, and 1.6 blocks a game to lead the team. Forward David Jackson averages 10.5 points and 4.7 rebounds a game. Tim Frazier leads the team in steals with 1.1 a game. Penn St is outscoring opponents 64-63 on the season. The Lions are shooting 43.2% from the field and 32.4% from 3-point range. PSU opponents are shooting 43.8% from the field. Penn St shoots 72.3% from the free throw line. Penn St averages 32.1 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +1.5. Penn St averages 12.5 assists and 10.6 turnovers a game. Penn St forces 11.4 turnovers a game on defense. They average 4.6 steals and 2.7 blocks a game.
Wisconsin has no significant injuries right now. Senior Forward Jon Leuer leads the team and is a candidate for national player of the year. Leuer is averaging 19.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.1 blocks a game. He leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Leuer is shooting 42.9% from 3-point range and 85.3% from the free throw line. Guard Jordan Taylor averages 18 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists to lead the team, and 0.8 steals a game to lead the team. Forward Keaton Nankivil averages 9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks a game to lead the team. All three of the top scorers shoot better than 42% from 3-point range. Wisconsin is outscoring opponents 69-57 on the season. The Badgers shoot 44.6% from the field and 37.5% from 3-point range. Badger opponents are shooting 41.4% from the field. The Badgers make 82.5% of their free throws. Wisconsin averages 32.7 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +3.8. Wisconsin averages 13.8 assists and 7.8 turnovers a game. The Badgers force 10.1 turnovers a game on defense. The Badgers average 3.6 steals and 3.4 blocks a game.
Wisconsin is almost unbeatable at home. Both of these teams are really good on defense, but aren’t the best rebounding teams. Wisconsin scores more than Penn St. I think the under is the play here as 10 of the 13 meetings have gone under since 1997 and 5 out of 6 have gone under in Wisconsin since 1997.
Our college basketball handicappers are red hot in 2011. Don’t miss out on any more winners this season.
