The Wisconsin Badgers travel to Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions at their famed Rec Hall in what will be a “White Out” crowd. Tip-off is Thursday at 6:00 PM on Fox Sports 1, and the Badgers are 5.5-point favorites.
The Badgers made it four wins in a row last Saturday with a 96-87 win over a struggling Rutgers Scarlet Knights squad. Wisconsin used a 51-point first half to take control of the game and hold off a second-half Rutgers surge to come away with the win. Nick Boyd was tremendous for the Badgers with 32 points and a career-high nine assists in the victory.
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What should Badger fans know about the Penn State Nittany Lions?
Opponent Preview
The Nittany Lions find themselves at 9-9 on the season in Mike Rhoades’ third season at the helm. They are winless in seven Big Ten games this year, but do not let their 0-7 conference record deceive you. Four of those losses were by single digits to ranked Big Ten teams: No. 9 Michigan State (76-72), No. 20 Illinois (73-65), No. 2 Michigan (74-72), and No. 5 Purdue (93-85). Penn State’s loss to Michigan was the toughest because the Nittany Lions had a shot to win that game, but ran … whatever this play was.
Penn State comes into this game second-to-last in the Big Ten, allowing 76.3 points per game, and is dead last in total rebounding with only 30.4 rebounds per game. That defense, ranked as the lowest among Big Ten teams in KenPom’s adjective defensive efficiency, allowed 18 three-pointers to Maryland in a 96-73 rout last Sunday. In addition, the Nittany Lions were outrebounded 39-21 in the blowout loss.
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The Nittany Lions do generate many steals, as Penn State is second in the Big Ten with 7.5 steals per game. A big reason for that is true freshman guard Kayden Mingo, the conference leader in steals per game with 2.4 steals per game.
Mingo, who returned to the court Sunday after suffering a broken nose on January 5th, also leads Penn State with 15.2 points and 4.5 assists per game. Joining Mingo in the backcourt are Dominick Stewart and Eli Rice. Stewart averages 6.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, while Rice, the team’s top three-point shooter at 44.8 percent, averages 7.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.2 assists per game. One name to note coming off the bench is Freddie Dilione V, the Nittany Lions’ second-leading scorer this season at 13.6 points per game.
At the forward positions are true freshman Ivan Juric and Cincinnati transfer Josh Reed. Juric is Penn State’s top rebounder with 4.2 rebounds a game, while Reed averages 8.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.
Score Prediction
Penn State is desperate for a conference win and has the talent to compete with the upper echelon of the Big Ten. Not to mention, Rec Hall should be a challenging environment for the Badgers. Wisconsin cannot afford a second-half lull like the one against Rutgers, or they will be in trouble in Happy Valley.
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The Badgers’ offense should do enough against the Nittany Lions’ porous defense to win this game, but it will not be easy.
Prediction: Wisconsin 86-79
