Who's Playing

Penn State @ Northwestern

Current Records: Penn State 17-12; Northwestern 20-9

What to Know

The Penn State Nittany Lions won both of their matches against the Northwestern Wildcats last season (74-70 and 67-60) and are aiming for the same result Wednesday. Penn State and Northwestern will face off in a Big Ten battle at 9 p.m. ET at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Coming off of a loss in a game they were expected to win, the Nittany Lions nows face the more daunting task of proving themselves against unfavorable odds.

It was close but no cigar for Penn State as they fell 59-56 to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Sunday. Guard Seth Lundy had a rough evening: he finished with only seven points on 1-for-16 shooting in his 31 minutes on the court.

Meanwhile, the matchup between Northwestern and the Maryland Terrapins on Sunday was not a total blowout, but with Northwestern falling 75-59 on the road, it was darn close to turning into one. Guard Chase Audige (16 points) was the top scorer for the Wildcats.

The Nittany Lions are now 17-12 while Northwestern sits at 20-9. Two stats to keep an eye on: Penn State is 360th worst in college basketball in takeaways, with only nine on average. To make matters even worse for Penn State, Northwestern enters the game with only 9.9 turnovers per game on average, good for 10th best in college basketball. So the cards are definitely stacked in Northwestern's favor.

How To Watch

  • When: Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET
  • Where: Welsh-Ryan Arena -- Evanston, Illinois
  • TV: Big Ten Network
  • Follow: CBS Sports App
  • Ticket Cost: $30.00

Odds

The Wildcats are a 3.5-point favorite against the Nittany Lions, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Wildcats as a 3-point favorite.

Over/Under: -109

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Series History

Penn State have won eight out of their last 12 games against Northwestern.

  • Feb 25, 2022 - Penn State 67 vs. Northwestern 60
  • Jan 05, 2022 - Penn State 74 vs. Northwestern 70
  • Jan 23, 2021 - Penn State 81 vs. Northwestern 78
  • Mar 07, 2020 - Northwestern 80 vs. Penn State 69
  • Feb 15, 2020 - Penn State 77 vs. Northwestern 61
  • Feb 04, 2019 - Penn State 59 vs. Northwestern 52
  • Mar 01, 2018 - Penn State 65 vs. Northwestern 57
  • Jan 20, 2018 - Northwestern 70 vs. Penn State 61
  • Jan 05, 2018 - Penn State 78 vs. Northwestern 63
  • Dec 27, 2016 - Northwestern 87 vs. Penn State 77
  • Mar 03, 2016 - Northwestern 71 vs. Penn State 61
  • Jan 16, 2016 - Penn State 71 vs. Northwestern 62