College basketball picks: Penn State-Northwestern prediction, odds, spread for March 1

The Penn State Nittany Lions will hit the road for a matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats on Wednesday night from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois. The game will tip off at 9:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on BTN.

My college hoops picks went 12-6-1 ATS over the last week, so let's take a look at the odds and lines on DraftKings Sportsbook and make some picks.

Penn State vs. Northwestern odds

Spread: Northwestern -3.5
Over/Under: 134
Moneyline: Northwestern -175, Penn State +150

Penn State (17-12, 8-10 Big Ten) ended a three-game winning streak with a 59-56 home loss to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Sunday. Camren Wynter scored a team-high 16 points on 3-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc with four rebounds and three assists. Caleb Dorsey missed six straight games and is out indefinitely. The Nittany Lions rate 50th overall in KenPom, including 14th in adjusted offensive efficiency with a defense that is 142nd.

Northwestern (20-9, 11-7 Big Ten) followed a five-game winning streak with consecutive losses including Sunday's 75-59 road loss to the Wildcats. Chase Audige led the way with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting, but it wasn't nearly enough. Julian Roper II hasn't played in nearly a month with an ankle injury and is likely to be held out of this contest. Northwestern rates 48th overall in KenPom and 94th in adjusted in offensive efficiency and 24th defensively.

The Pick: Under 134

Both teams are in solid betting spots looking for bounce-back victories, so let's stay away from the spread and hit the total. The offenses like to play slow, so possessions will be limited in this matchup. Penn State rates 316th in adjusted tempo, while Northwestern is 299th in that category. The Nittany Lions are an all-offense, no-defense team, but the flow of this game is geared toward the under.

  
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