MATT FARGO
Penn St. closed the season pretty impressively winning four of five games including a last second victory over Illinois in the second to last game of the season. The Nittany Lions lost at Iowa in overtime two days later but that can be attributed to a big time letdown spot. We don’t have that here as Penn St. easily took out Indiana on Thursday and while it is likely into the field of 65, another win over a quality opponent will not hurt. I am not solid on the quality of this Purdue team. The Boilermakers were a sexy pick to win the Big Ten this season after coming out of nowhere last year and returning virtually the entire team this season. They went 11-2 in the non-conference season with the losses coming against Duke and Oklahoma, nothing to be ashamed of, but a 0-2 in the conference season had people wondering. However the Boilermakers ran off six straight wins and were looking good to compete for the title. However, Purdue went 5-5 down the stretch including losses in three of its last four games and comes into this one with little momentum. Penn St. is a team that can be dangerous if its go to players are playing well. This season’s meetings are a perfect example. During Penn State’s 67-64 upset of the Boilermakers in January, guards Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle combined for 39 points. In a 61-47 loss in February however, Battle was held scoreless for the only time this season and Pringle totaled only five points. The two were a combined 2-of-16 from the field and 1-of-7 from three-point range. Penn State is 14-1 when Battle, Pringle and Jamelle Cornley all reach double figures. Play on neutral court teams that are revenging a loss against an opponent that is coming off a road loss scoring less than 60 points. This situation is 41-14 ATS (74.5 percent) over the last five seasons. 3* Penn St. Nittany Lions