Buffalo vs Penn State prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball
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It’s time to continue our College Basketball odds series with a Buffalo-Penn State prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Buffalo-Penn State.
Thanksgiving weekend concludes with more college basketball nonconference clashes. The day starts with Maine and Navy at noon Eastern time. This game follows that one in the 2 p.m. Eastern time slot.
Penn State is trying to establish itself in the Big Ten under coach Mike Rhoades, who came over from Virginia Commonwealth. Penn State became an NCAA Tournament program under head coach Micah Shrewsberry, who is now at Notre Dame. It is not easy to win at Penn State. Coaches who win there are legitimately good; you don’t win at PSU by accident. Most people in the college basketball industry think Rhoades was a very solid hire to replace Shrewsberry. Now he needs to prove he was the right choice.
Penn State has lost only one game. That was in the Nittany Lions’ most recent outing against Clemson a few days ago. The Nittany Lions hope that the loss teaches them lessons they didn’t learn — or couldn’t have learned — in their wins against generally inferior competition. PSU’s most notable victory so far this season was a convincing win over Virginia Tech. While Virginia Tech is not a particularly good team, that is still an ACC win for Penn State, a sign that this team’s floor is relatively high, even if its ceiling might be lower than it hoped. There seems to be a general consensus that Penn State is a moderately decent team, which translates into NIT quality. The goal is to somehow take that next step upward and become an NCAA Tournament team or, at the very least, a bubble team which is at least in the March Madness discussion in the final weeks before Selection Sunday.
Buffalo comes to Happy Valley having won consecutive games, but those wins were both very close against teams ranked in the lower portion of the larger Division I basketball power structure. There are over 350 Division I teams. Morgan State and North Carolina A&T, the two teams Buffalo just defeated, will likely end the regular season ranked below 250 in men’s college basketball. Beating those two teams by small margins is an indication of Buffalo’s limitations. Winning is better than losing, but the Bulls are not fooling anyone so far this season, and they have a lot to work on if they want to meaningfully improve over the next few months.
Here are the Buffalo-Penn State College Basketball Odds, courtesy of FanDuel
College Basketball Odds: Buffalo-Penn State Odds
Buffalo: +28.5 (-110)
Moneyline: +4000
Penn State: -28.5 (-110)
Moneyline: -20000
Over: 161.5 (-110)
Under: 161.5 (-110)
How to Watch Buffalo vs Penn State
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: fuboTV (Free Trial)
Why Buffalo Will Cover The Spread/Win
The spread is enormous. This is a Sunday afternoon game before what will likely be a sparse crowd. Everyone at Penn State is focused on football and the Big Ten Championship Game next weekend, so this isn’t going to be an intimidating atmosphere. Penn State will really need to go after it to cover the spread, and chances are the Nittany Lions will jog through this game at three-quarter speed, enabling Buffalo to lose by only 20 points.
Why Penn State Will Cover The Spread/Win
The Nittany Lions are dramatically better than Buffalo. If they get off to a 10-point lead in the first eight to 10 minutes, they should be able to lead by close to 20 at the half and then do more in the second half to ultimately win by 35.
Final Buffalo-Penn State Prediction & Pick
Our lean is to Penn State, but we don’t feel comfortable with the large spread. Maybe wait for a live play here.
Final Buffalo-Penn State Prediction & Pick: Penn State -28.5
The post Buffalo vs Penn State prediction, odds, pick for College Basketball appeared first on ClutchPoints.
