College Basketball Odds, Pick: Penn State vs Northwestern (Sunday, Feb. 11)

Here's everything you need to know about Penn State vs. Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 11 — our expert prediction and college basketball betting pick for today.

A battle of middling Big Ten teams is our Super Bowl Sunday appetizer.

Oddly enough, these teams basketball programs weirdly mirror their football programs. What I mean by that is that they pride themselves on defense and play physical ball on both ends.

Thankfully for us, this one will not end 9-6 like a Penn State-Northwestern football game probably would.

This is the second meeting this season between the Nittany Lions and the Wildcats. Early on in the Big Ten season, Northwestern outlasted Penn State in State College, 76-72. That was Northwestern's first win at Penn State in almost seven years, so you know it'll be hungry to earn that season sweep.

Here's college basketball odds and a pick for Penn State vs. Northwestern on Sunday, Feb. 11.

Don't look now, but Penn State has quietly rattled off three straight Big Ten wins. It wasn't exactly murderer's row, but three solid wins in conference is always impressive.

Anytime there's a new coach in town, growing pains are a part of the process, and that's exactly what's happened with Penn State and Mike Rhoades.

The Nittany Lions will need to be clicking here, as playing in Evanston is never an easy task. Throw in the fact that Northwestern is looking for the season sweep, and that'll make it an extra tough task.

Northwestern is just a few games out of the Big Ten race and has the guard play to really make some noise down the stretch. The tandem of Boo Buie and Ty Berry is truly one of the best in the Big Ten.

Besides that, the Wildcats have some real shooters that can take over any game.

Recently, Northwestern dropped two straight Big Ten games for the first time this year. However, it bounced back in a big way by taking down one of the hottest teams in conference in Nebraska this past Wednesday.

The Wildcats have a lot riding on this matchup — a season sweep of Penn State and a game to really vault them into a top seed in the Big Ten Tournament with just a handful of regular season games left.

Both of these squads have improved since the first time they met up, but I really love what Rhoades and Penn State have done of late. They've been extremely physical, are sharing the ball well and have caught a ton of Big Ten teams off guard.

I'm not so sure the Nittany Lions will surprise Northwestern too much, but this number is hard to pass up. I'm expecting a back-and-forth, low-scoring contest from the tip, with the Wildcats edging it out down the stretch.

The Nittany Lions will keep it close and cover when it's all said and done.

Pick: Penn State +8

The must-have app for college basketball bettors

The best NCAAB betting scoreboard

Free picks from proven pros

Live win probabilities for your bets

DOWNLOAD NOW