The Penn State Nittany Lions (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten) bring a three-game win streak into a home matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats (10-3, 1-1 Big Ten), who have won four straight. The Wildcats are underdogs by 4.5 points in the contest, which tips at 7:00 PM ET (on Peacock) on Thursday, January 2, 2025. The over/under is 145 for the matchup.
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Penn State Cover -4.5 vs Northwestern -110
Penn State vs. Northwestern betting lines
- Penn State moneyline odds to win: -204
- Northwestern moneyline odds to win: +168
- Spread: Penn State (-4.5)
- Total: 145
Penn State statistics, trends and more
As the home team
- Against the spread last season, Penn State performed worse at home, covering nine times in 16 home games, and six times in 10 road games.
- The Nittany Lions exceeded the over/under in a higher percentage of home games (68.8%) than road tilts (50%) last season.
Last season stats
- Last year, the Nittany Lions were 128th in college basketball on offense (75.1 points scored per game) and 231st on defense (73.4 points allowed).
- Penn State collected 29.3 rebounds per game and gave up 33.5 boards last season, ranking 333rd and 293rd, respectively, in the nation.
- The Nittany Lions were 224th in the nation in assists (12.6 per game) last season.
Penn State betting records this season
- ATS Record: 6-7-0 (Home: 4-4-0; Away: 0-1-0)
- ATS Record When Favored by 4.5+: 5-5-0 (As Favorite: 6-6-0; As Underdog: 0-1-0)
- O-U-P: 5-8-0 (Home: 5-3-0; Away: 0-1-0)
- Record When Moneyline Favorite: 10-1 (Home: 7-0; Away: 0-0)
- Record When Moneyline Underdog: 0-1 (Home: 0-0; Away: 0-1)
| Field Goal % | Opp. Field Goal % | Rebounds | Opp. Rebounds | Assists | Turnovers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50.4 (16th in nation) | 42.1 (128th) | 34.2 (126th) | 28.8 (68th) | 18.8 (ninth) | 11.2 (155th) |
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Northwestern statistics, trends and more
As the away team
- Against the spread last year, Northwestern had better results on the road (6-5-0) than at home (9-7-1).
- In terms of the over/under, Wildcats games went over more frequently at home (12 of 17, 70.6%) than away (six of 11, 54.5%) last year.
- As moneyline underdogs last season, the Wildcats won a higher percentage of games at home (3-0) than away (2-6).
Last season stats
- With 73.3 points per game on offense, the Wildcats were 185th in the country last year. At the other end of the court, they gave up 69.1 points per contest, which ranked 89th in college basketball.
- Northwestern averaged only 29.1 rebounds per game (24th-worst in college basketball), and allowed 30.3 boards per contest (109th-ranked).
- The Wildcats delivered 15.5 dimes per game, which ranked them 45th in the nation.
Northwestern betting records this season
- ATS Record: 7-5-1 (Home: 4-3-1; Away: 1-1-0)
- ATS Record When Underdog by 4.5+: 1-1-0 (As Favorite: 5-4-1; As Underdog: 2-1-0)
- O-U-P: 7-6-0 (Home: 4-4-0; Away: 2-0-0)
- Record When Moneyline Favorite: 9-1 (Home: 7-0; Away: 0-0)
- Record When Moneyline Underdog: 1-2 (Home: 1-0; Away: 0-2)
| Field Goal % | Opp. Field Goal % | Rebounds | Opp. Rebounds | Assists | Turnovers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45.2 (182nd in nation) | 42.2 (134th) | 32.0 (245th) | 30.7 (162nd) | 14.8 (138th) | 8.4 (second) |
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