This is an 8* on PENN ST

Penn State is catching Rutgers off an upset. While it might seem logical to tie the Scarlet Knights' upset over Nebraska to the return of leading scorer Eugene Omoruyi, he had only 9 points on 2 of 9 shooting. Rather, it was a career night from Montez Mathis, who went for 20 points and nine rebounds. Rutgers came from behind to beat the Cornhuskers, 76-69 as 8.5-point underdogs. But that was at home. The last time this team was off an upset, they went out and lost their next game by 18 (at Minnesota) on the road. It's the exact same scenario here and I expect an identical result. Penn State may have lost its last six games, but they've played a lot better than their record suggests. All six Big 10 losses have come to likely NCAA Tournament teams and the last one was the most painful as they blew an 11-point second half lead and lost by 1 at Minnesota. It was the second straight loss where the Nittany Lions were leading at the half. They've had a week off to recover from that Minnesota loss, however. That's one advantage. Another is on the defensive end. Penn State actually ranks inside the top 30 in the country in defensive efficiency. Rutgers is a surprising 44th in its own right, but only 220th on offense. Penn State is due for a big win and gets it here. Play on PENN STATE

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