Penn State vs Rutgers Predictions, Odds and Picks - Jan. 31 | College Basketball Season 2023-24

On Wednesday night in college hoops, the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-11, 3-6 Big 10) visit the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-9, 2-6 Big 10) at 8:30 p.m. EST at the Jersey Mike's Arena. This matchup of two teams sitting towards the bottom of the Big 10 standings will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.

The Penn State Nittany Lions will play the first of their two-game road stretch, coming off an 83-74 loss at home to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Saturday. It was the second straight loss for the Nittany Lions.

Penn State, led in scoring by senior guard Ace Baldwin Jr., built an early lead and led the Golden Gophers by 14 at the half. However they couldn't hold off Minnesota's comeback charge led by junior forward Dawson Garcia, who finished with a 22-point outing.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, have had to face two of the Big 10's top three teams in their two previous matchups, losing to No. 14 Illinois and No. 2 Purdue. The Scarlet Knights are 2-6 on the season against conference opponents.

Rutgers held their own against No. 2 Purdue on Sunday, losing by only eight points. They were led once again by their leading scorer, senior forward Aundre Hyatt, who dropped 15 points but struggled from beyond the arc, going 2-9. Rutgers also got a solid performance senior center Clifford Omoruyi, who finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds.

Both the Nittany Lions and Scarlet Knights will battle to avoid dropping their third consecutive game. Penn State will look for their first road win of the season, being 0-4 away from their home floor.

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Penn State vs Rutgers: Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Total	Moneyline
Penn State Nittany Lions (9-11, 3-6 Conf)	+6.5 (-105)	o143.5 (-115)	+240
Rutgers Scarlet Knights (10-9, 2-6 Conf)	-6.5 (-115)	u143.5 (-105)	-290

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Penn State vs Rutgers: Head-to-Head

The previous 10 matchups between the two teams are split evenly. However, Rutgers has won the last three matchups, including a 19-point comeback victory on the road on Feb. 26, 2023. Penn State also hasn't won on Rutgers' home floor since 2019.

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Where to watch Penn State vs Rutgers

The game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network beginning at 8:30 p.m EST.

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Penn State vs Rutgers: Key Injuries

Penn State

• Guard Kanye Clary: Face (day-to-day)
• Guard Nick Kern Jr: Lower Body (Probable)

Rutgers

• Center Emmanuel Ogbole: Knee (OUT indefinitely)
• Guard Jeremiah Williams: Eligibility (OUT for season)

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Penn State vs Rutgers: Picks and Prediction

Rutgers are favorites in this matchup by -6.5, a change from when this matchup opened with Rutgers as -7.5 favorites.

The under for this matchup seems to be the way to go, as Rutgers has only scored over 63 points once in their last five games. Two of those last five games were against top-15 ranked opponents, though.

This conference clash should be a close game overall. Penn State built an early lead in their last matchup against a fairly strong Minnesota Golden Gophers team before letting it slip away. They will look to capitalize on that and look to being up early in games.

Nittany Lions leading scorer Kanye Clary is on the injury report after a collision in their previous game. Clary looks good to go for this one, which is good news for the Nittany Lions, as Clary is averaging 18.4 points, shooting 46.5%.

The Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, will look to forward Aundre Hyatt to continue his high-production scoring. Hyatt has scored in double-digits in the last five games for Rutgers. Another player to watch out for is Center Clifford Omoruyi, who is third in the nation in blocked shots per game, with 3.1.

This should be a close matchup in the first meeting of the two conference opponents this season. Penn State has a good chance to right their wrongs from their previous loss and register a victory.

Pick: Penn State Nittany Lions +6.5 (-105)