Northwestern at Penn State (-4.5) - 4:00pm Pacific - Game #721-722
The Nittany Lions are an undervalued team right now. They have all but one key player back from an NIT team last year but two bad losses and almost no quality wins has them as just a mild home favorite tonight against a bad Northwestern team. Taking a closer look shows that Penn State has played all but just a few games this season with key players injured. Top scorer and all around player Geary Claxton is a great one but an early season wrist injury forced him to miss four games and limited him in four others. Since removing his cast Claxton has averaged 23ppg over five games and is the current Big 10 player of the week. Senior point guard Ben Luber, a four year starter, missed two games recently, including the embarrassing three point loss to SE Louisiana due to an ankle injury, but he has since returned in last two. Penn State lost by only 4 at Georgia Tech and were in control most of the game in loss at Seton Hall. This team has potential to make some noise in the Big 10 this year.

Northwestern has one if its least talented teams in years. They have already lost to Cornell at home and to Tennessee Tech in Puerto Rico. Their wins over North Florida (2-11), Miami Fla, Western Michigan, and Wheaton (Division III) came by a combined seven points. The Wildcats are a young team with three freshman and two sophomores in their 8 man rotation, and have played just one true road game all season, a loss at Stanford. Despite mostly a soft schedule, Northwestern still has a -5.2 rebounding margin and reserve forward Jeff Ryan who averages 14.4 minutes per game, left last game with an ankle injury and is questionable for this game. Penn State has some higher expectations this year and they have a favorable early season conference schedule as they do not face Ohio State or Wisconsin until February. This is the type of game they must win. A less experienced Penn State beat a better Northwestern team three straight times last season. Bobblehead giveaway should attract enough fans despite students being on break. I am expecting PSU's best showing of the season tonight. Give the points.

RAS Official Play: Penn State -4.5 1 UNIT


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