The Penn State Nittany Lions and Maryland Terrapins, ranked 17th, take to the court tonight in Big Ten College Basketball action. The game is scheduled for an 8:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on the Big Ten Network. Currently the Betting Odds for the game have the Terrapins favored by a comfortable margin to pick up the win.
Maryland has been one of the big surprises in the Big Ten this season and might be the second best team in the conference. The Terps have already picked up 18 wins on the season and have a good mix of solid players.
Penn State had a nice out of conference run, but the Nittany Lions have come back down to earth after a 2-7 record in the Big Ten. Both of those wins, though, came within the last three games overall as the Nittany Lions beat both Rutgers and Minnesota in home games.
On the road, though, Penn State is not that good of a basketball team, going just 2-5. Even worse news for the Nittany Lions is Maryland's near impeccable record in home games as the Terps have piled up 13 wins in 14 games with the lone loss coming to Virginia.
D.J. Newbill leads the conference in scoring at 21.5 per game but Penn State is going to need somebody else to step up in this game as well. Maryland isn't the best defensive team but they will certainly look to key on Newbill and force someone else to beat them. Nobody else on Penn State averages double digits.
Melo Trimble leads the Terps in scoring at almost 16 points per game, but Maryland has two other very nice options in Jake Layman (14 ppg) and Dez Wells, who averages 13.5 points and nearly five rebounds a game. The perimeter game for Maryland will be a key role in tonight's game.
Penn State will keep this one close.
Free Pick: Maryland 72, Penn State 66
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