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Penn State Nittany Lions @ Va. Tech Hokies

Current Records: Penn State 3-0, Va. Tech 2-0

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Va. Tech has played every game this season on their home court, but they'll have to hit the road on Friday. They will face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions at 7:30 p.m. ET at CFG Bank Arena. The Hokies are expected to lose this one by 5.5 points, so we'll see if that gives them a bit of motivation.

Va. Tech is headed into this one after the oddsmakers set last week's over/under low at 153.5, but even that wound up being too high. They came out on top against Winthrop by a score of 58-52 on Monday.

Va. Tech's success was spearheaded by the efforts of Toibu Lawal, who dropped a double-double on ten points and ten rebounds, and Jaden Schutt, who went 6 for 11 en route to 17 points. Lawal is also crushing it when it comes to blocks: he's posted at least two every time he's taken the court this season.

Va. Tech smashed the offensive glass and finished the game with 16 offensive rebounds. That's the most offensive rebounds they've posted since back in November of 2023.

Meanwhile, Penn State had already won two in a row (a stretch where they outscored their opponents by an average of 45.5 points) and they went ahead and made it three on Tuesday. They put a hurting on the Red Flash to the tune of 92-62. Fans of the Nittany Lions have seen this all before: every one of the games they've played this season has ended in a blowout of 19+ points.

Penn State can attribute much of their success to Puff Johnson, who went 7 for 8 en route to 20 points plus four steals. The dominant performance also gave Johnson a new career-high in field goal percentage (87.5%). Yanic Konan Niederhauser was another key player, posting 11 points plus seven rebounds.

Va. Tech pushed their record up to 2-0 with the victory, which was their eighth straight at home dating back to last season. As for Penn State, their win bumped their record up to 3-0.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Va. Tech has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 38.7 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Penn State struggles in that department as they've been averaging 43.7. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Va. Tech skirted past Penn State 61-59 in their previous matchup back in November of 2022. Will Va. Tech repeat their success, or does Penn State have a better game plan this time around? We'll find out soon enough.

Odds

Penn State is a solid 5.5-point favorite against Va. Tech, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 5.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is 150.5 points.

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Series History

Penn State has won 2 out of their last 3 games against Va. Tech.

  • Nov 18, 2022 - Va. Tech 61 vs. Penn State 59
  • Dec 08, 2020 - Penn State 75 vs. Va. Tech 55
  • Nov 27, 2018 - Penn State 63 vs. Va. Tech 62