Check out our free Penn State vs Texas pick and preview for this NCAA Basketball game in Des Moines. See who we like to win and cover the spread in this College Basketball matchup.

Penn State vs Texas Pick & Preview: Saturday, March 18th Betting Odds

Nittany Lions vs Longhorns Matchup at a Glance

  • Sport: NCAAB
  • Teams: Penn State Nittany Lions at Texas Longhorns
  • Where: Des Moines at Wells Fargo Arena (IA)
  • Date: Saturday, March 18th
  • Betting Odds: Penn State +5.5, PENNST +187 | TX -236 O/U 138.0

Nittany Lions Preview:

Through 35 games, the Penn State Nittany Lions have an overall record of 22-13. So far, the Nittany Lions have played 17 games on the road, with a record of 8-9. For the season, Penn State has been the underdog in 17 games, sitting with a mark of 8-9. Currently, the oddsmakers have the lines set with the Nittany Lions being +5.5 point underdogs.

Jalen Pickett comes into today’s game as the Nittany Lions’ leading scorer at 17.86 points per contest. Not only has Pickett been key to the team’s scoring efforts, but he is Penn State’s top rebounder at 7.34 boards per contest. Behind Pickett, the team has benefited from the strong play of Seth Lundy, who is second on the team in scoring at 14.38 points per game. Overall, he has hit 45.4% of his shots and is adding 6.32 boards per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Penn State this season, as they are currently ranked 391st in college basketball at 64.6 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Nittany Lions’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 34.2%, placing them 237th in the NCAA.

Longhorns Preview:

The Texas Longhorns head into today’s game in what will be their 35th game of the season, posting a record of 26-8. Currently, the Longhorns have been the home team 23 times, sitting with a record of 21-2. The Longhorns’ are sitting with a betting line that is -5.5 points in their favor. For the season, Texas has been favored to win in 28 games, sitting with a mark of 25-3.

Texas will be counting on another strong performance from the team’s leading scorer Marcus Carr who is averaging 15.91 points per game for the Longhorns. Carr is also important to the team’s ability to score on the perimeter. So far, he leads the team in 3-point shots made. Also key to the Longhorns’ offensive game plan is the play of Sir’Jabari Rice who has hit 45.8% of his field goal attempts on his way to averaging 12.91 points per game.

Offensive production has been hard to come by for Texas this season, as they are currently ranked 295th in college basketball at 68.3 points per game. A major reason for low scoring totals is the fact that they have played at a below average pace, and have struggled to knock down outside shots. As a team, the Longhorns’ 3-point shooting percentage sits at just 32.3%, placing them 354th in the NCAA.

Free Spread Prediction: Texas Longhorns -5.5

Heading into this matchup, our NCAA betting model has identified this game as a profitable opportunity and recommends taking the Texas Longhorns to pick up the win and cover the spread as -5.5 point betting favorites. Although Texas as a team is just 206th in overall shooting percentage, we see their offense putting together a strong performance against the Nittany Lions’ defense. At -5.5 we see there being plenty of value in grabbing the Longhorns to come out on top and cover.