Penn State vs Rutgers Picks & Odds (Jan. 24)

• Rutgers is a 5.5-home favorite over Penn State on Tuesday night in a Big Ten game
• Both teams have 13-6 overall records
• Below, find a look at the Penn State vs Rutgers odds and predictions

After falling out of the Top 25, Rutgers will try to get back on track when it hosts Penn State in a Big Ten game at 6:30 p.m. ET Tuesday at Jersey Mike’s Arena in Piscataway, N.J.

Rutgers (13-6, 11-1 home, 5-3 Big Ten) was ranked #23 until losing to Michigan State 70-57 last Thursday on the road. It was just the Scarlet Knights’ second loss in their last nine games.

Penn State (13-6, 1-3 road, 4-4 Big Ten) has won two of three, including defeating Nebraska 76-65 on Saturday at home.

The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

Penn State vs Rutgers Odds

Odds as of January 23rd at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Rutgers is favored by 5.5 points and -225 picks on the moneyline in the college basketball odds. The Scarlet Knights are listed at +1000 in the Big Ten championship odds and Penn State is at +4500.

Penn State Betting Trends

Hot-shooting Andrew Funk led the way in Penn State’s win over Nebraska on Saturday.

The senior guard scored 23 points, making 8 of 13 shots from the field, including 5 of 10 from three-point range. Funk had 16 points in the first half when Penn State scored the game’s first 10 points and built a 29-23 lead at intermission.

The Bucknell transfer is averaging 13.0 points a game and is 15 of 30 (50%) from distance over the last three games.

Andrew Funk silences the crowd in Madison 🤫@PennStateMBB x @andrewfunk11 pic.twitter.com/xe171DmDzi

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 18, 2023

Penn State made 16 of its last 21 shots while shooting 68% in the second half and 49% for the game. The Nittany Lions are 11^th nationally in three-point shooting (39.4%) and 16^th in free throw percentage (77.7).

Senior guard Jalen Pickett is Penn State’s top player, averaging 17.4 points, 7.9 rebounds and a Big Ten-leading 7.2 assists a game.

Pickett had his sixth double-double of the season Saturday with 12 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. However, he also had seven of the Nittany Lions’ 10 turnovers.

Senior wing Seth Lundy scored 16 points and has averages of 13.8 points and 6.0 rebounds.

Rutgers Betting Trends

Rutgers’ rugged defense had a rare off night in the loss to Michigan State. The Spartans made 12 of 22 three-point attempts for 54.5%.

The Scarlet Knights are fifth in Division I in scoring defense (57.6), sixth in field goal defense (37.7) and 30^th in three-point defense (29.6).

Among the conference steals leaders, senior guard Cam Spencer is 2^nd with an average of 2.6 a game while senior guard Caleb McConnell (2.4) is third and senior guard Paul Mulcahy (1.7) is fifth.

Spencer is having a fine all-round season following his transfer from Loyola Maryland, averaging 13.6 points, 3.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds. However, he was held to eight points by Michigan State on 3-of-14 shooting overall and 1 of 8 from long distance.

Now that we got the casual 5 star and top 25 ranking out of the way…all eyes on Cam Spencer 1st Team All BIG Campaign

DO IT COWARDS @bigten pic.twitter.com/I4TSOVN8vs

— RutgersSportsTalk (@RutgersFBTalk) January 16, 2023

Junior center Clifford Omoruyi led Rutgers with 12 points and 12 rebounds while registering his seventh double-double of 2022-23. However, he has struggled lately, making just 35.8% (19 of 53) of his field goal attempts in the last six games.

Omoruyi’s seasonal numbers are still fine with 13.2 points, 10.2 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots a game. He is second in the Big Ten in boards and third in blocks.

McConnell contributed in many ways against Michigan State. He finished with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals.

However, Rutgers shot just 34.7% (22 of 64) from the field and was a horrid 2 for 17 (11.8%) on three-point attempts. The Scarlet Knights are shooting just 31.5% beyond the arc this season to rank 301^st in Division I.

Penn State vs Rutgers Prediction

The teams last met in the 2021-22 regular-season finale with Rutgers eking out a 59-58 win. Lundy scored 17 points in a losing cause for Penn State.

Look for this one to be close, too, with the Nittany Lions sneaking under the number as the Scarlet Knights are struggling to score points.

Pick: Penn State +5.5 (-114)

Season record: 21-16 (+3.4 units) ATS, 1-6 (-4.5 units) ML