Indiana has played itself back onto the NCAA Tournament bubble, even with Coach Mike Woodson planning to step down at the end of the season. The Hoosiers definitely would fall back to the wrong side of the bubble if they are upset as solid home favorites in Big Ten action, so become part of this huge game and don’t miss the Penn State vs Indiana Picks.
Penn State (15-13, 5-12 Big Ten) has made the Big Dance just once since 2012 and will miss again this season barring a stunning run to the Big Ten Tournament title. The only team below the Lions in conference action is new member Washington.
| Opening Spread/Totals Subject to Change: Indiana -6.5 (total 150.5) Expert Prediction: Indiana 75, Penn State 71 |
Penn State vs Indiana Picks, College Basketball betting lines & TV Info
NCAAB Moneylines: Indiana -263 / Penn State +209
When: Wednesday, 8:30 ET
Where: Assembly Hall
TV: Big Ten Network
Stream: BTN+
Indiana (16-11, 7-9 Big Ten) is currently among ESPN’s “Next Four Out” for the NCAA Tournament via ESPN, so it can’t afford a bad loss like this. IU is sitting at No. 56 in the NCAA NET rankings and has a 4-11 mark in Quad 1 games.
The Hoosiers try for the sweep as they beat Penn State 77-71 on Jan. 5 not on the PSU campus but at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia. The game was tied at 29 at halftime before Indiana opened the second half on a 12-0 run. IU led by as much as 16 before the Nittany Lions rallied within two with 1:43 to play, but the Hoosiers were able to hang on for the 77-71 win.
Oumar Ballo scored 25 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead Indiana. A 15-2 surge to open the second half — sparked by Mackenzie Mgbako’s personal 8-0 run in 56 seconds — proved crucial. Mgbako finished with 20 points. Nick Kern Jr. led Penn State with 21 points. The Lions shot just 14.3 percent (3-21) from 3-point range, compared to Indiana’s 39.1 percent (9-23) mark. “Our defense held us where we needed to be,” Woodson said.
^Nittany Lions Turning Things Around?
Penn State has followed a seven-game winning streak with back-to-back wins following a 69-60 victory at a bad Minnesota team on Saturday. The Nittany Lions trailed by nine midway through the first half, but used stellar defense to battle back and lead by as much as 14 in the second. Penn State limited Minnesota to a 33.9 FG% (20-59) and a 21.7 3-point shooting % (5-23).
Yanic Konan Niederhauser led the Nittany Lions with a Big Ten career-best 24 points, seven rebounds and five blocks. Ace Baldwin Jr. tallied 10 points and seven assists, while Freddie Dilione V added 10 points and six rebounds. Baldwin Jr. entered the game ranked fourth in the nation in free-throw percentage. With his perfect 8-for-8 showing against the Gophers, he is now shooting 93.8 percent (136-145) from the line. The Nittany Lions earned their first Big Ten road win of the season.
One big problem for PSU this season has been the loss of 6-foot-8 forward Puff Johnson to what turned out to be a season-ending hand/wrist injury in mid-January. Johnson was a versatile defender who was comfortable matching up with wings or post players. Though he started at forward in all 17 games in which he played, he was also able to slide over to center when Niederhauser encountered foul trouble. Forward Eli Rice played in one mid-November game before being shelved for the year with an unspecified injury.
Penn State is averaging 79.4 points per game, which currently tracks to beat the best mark in program history for a single-season scoring average of 78.7 ppg that was set by the 1954-55 team. The Nittany Lions have scored 80-plus points in 15 games this season.
^Penn State vs Indiana Picks provided by MyBookie
Hoosiers Playing Hard For Woodson
Sometimes you see teams play really well all of a sudden for lame-duck coaches and that appears to be what’s going on at Indiana with Coach Mike Woodson, a former star player at IU, announcing recently he would not return next season amid calls for Woodson to be fired. But the Hoosiers have won two of three and upset No. 13 Purdue on Sunday, 73-58 in Bloomington. IU held advantages in paint points (44-18) and points off turnovers (23-12).
“They refused to lose,” Woodson said. “They did everything from a defensive standpoint that we worked on.”
IU’s 28-3 run in the opening 10 minutes turned a 12-point deficit to a 13-point lead and delivered control the Hoosiers never lost. They won the second half 48-21. Guard Myles Rice, in his first IU season after transferring from Washington State, totaled 12 points, including a second-half opening 3-pointer that set the team’s 64-percent-shooting offensive effort over the final 20 minutes. Defensively, Rice helped make Purdue’s Braden Smith, one of the Big Ten’s best point guards, look ordinary. Smith had eight points and six turnovers, five in the second half.
“The message was to win,” forward Malik Reneau said. “We knew this was a must-win game. Everybody had that feeling. When we got down at halftime, it was the same thing. We put it all on the floor, and you saw the result.” Reneau became the 55th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points after he posted 15 points, six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and one block. Over the last four contests, he has averaged 16.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
^Penn State vs Indiana Picks NCAAB Expert Prediction
Since news of Woodson’s resignation at the season’s end, the Hoosiers have changed their tune. While a 2-2 record since isn’t otherworldly, IU’s difference in play has been noticeable – more inspiration, more effort, more purpose. The timing isn’t a coincidence.
“We’re all playing for each other because we’re all in it together,” Trey Galloway said after Saturday’s win. “Obviously, this is Coach’s last year, and we want to make it special for him. We want to make it special for everyone.”
In each of the past four games, Indiana has coughed up fewer than 10 turnovers. The stretch is the longest by a Hoosier team in the play-by-play database (dating back to the 1997-98 season). The Hoosiers have averaged 7.8 turnovers per game over the last four. Rice is one of three Big Ten players to produce at least 275 points, 75 rebounds, 70 assists, and 30 steals while shooting at least 80.0% from the free throw line this season.
Five Nittany Lions are averaging double-digit points, led by Baldwin Jr.’s 13.7 points per game. Baldwin Jr. ranks top five in the country in assists per game (7.3) and FT% (93.8%). Penn State is 1-11 SU in its last 12 games on the road and 2-5 ATS in its past seven games overall, while IU is 5-2 ATS in its past seven.
The Hoosiers lead this all-time series 44-17, and we expect another victory. Indiana 75, Penn State 71.
^A look at Mike DeCourcy's latest bracket forecast 👀#B1GMBBall x @tsnmike pic.twitter.com/OgMoelzFfG
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) February 25, 2025
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