THE OFFICIAL RUTGERS-PENN STATE PREDICTION THREAD

[bac2therac]

RUTGERS 77 Penn State 66

 

[BillyC80]

A good comp would be how PSU played at OSU, losing 79-67 to a team we played pretty evenly, also on the road.

Of note in that game, OSU was only 3-18 from 3, while PSU shot 11-24 from 3, 4-5 from the FT line, had only 7 turnovers, and still lost by 12 because they were absolutely dominated inside.

This is a game that Cliff, Mag, and Hyatt have to step up on the offensive and defensive glass, while our guards do their best to deny open looks from the arc.

Rutgers wins, 74-67.

 

[scarletrat]

even with the struggles this season, can’t and shouldn’t lose to PSU.

RU 65-60

 

[dark_check]

RU 65 PSU 59

 

[LeapinLou]

I don't like that PSU just dropped a home game to Minnesota. That could be a wake up call for them or give us a false sense of confidence.

The bottom line is this can't be a game where we have to play comeback from a 10-12 point deficit. We have to be the team that takes the big lead and holds off any surges. If we can give the "2nd half Purdue" performance for 40 minutes, we will win. Otherwise, anything is possible.

 

[Proud NJ Sports Fan]

Pen St 59
RU 53

 

[Rutgers56_rivals]

Rutgers 71
Penn State 67

Two terrible basketball teams but the one with decent defense and the home crowd plays less poorly for the win.

 

[RUbytheshore]

Rutgers 70 - Penn State 65

 

[RUJMM78]

Rutgers 67 Penn State 61

 

[fatsam98]

Rutgers 58
Penn State 54

Despite an epic fail on the stripe out we pull out an ugly game

 

[dfr1966]

RU 70-60

 

[RUBOB72]

Penn State 72
Rutgers 64

 

[RUKnights86]

Think RU wins but Cleary exited their game against Minnesota. If he is out that makes the path a lot easier because he is their facilitator and creates his own shot.

 

[Greene Rice FIG]

63-61 RU

 

[Rufans]

Rutgers 73
Penn State 65

 

[Waldo73]

This is one we have to win. RU 71 PSU 67

 

[knight82]

A game Rutgers should win, but will definitely lose if they don't play hard.
RU 72
Penn State 65

 

[PatrickRU92]

F state penn. scumbags

Always.


RU 120
state penn 6

 

[Freddy Stubbs]

We have shown a lot of progress in our rebounding this year. Looking for RU to dominate the boards and get the W.
PU 63
RU 70
RU + 15 on the glass

 

[fluoxetine]

The fact that everyone in here has predicted a win is terrifying.

Rutgers 70-67

 

[Rutgersfan0515]

This will be a blowout. 73-59

 

[motorb54]

The fact that everyone in here has predicted a win is terrifying.

Rutgers 70-67

Except Bob72

 

[Joey Bags]

We need this win, bigly

 

[Scangg]

Except Bob72

And "Proud"

The judge likely coming in with a loss too

If you're predicting a loss this game, are you predicting Rutgers to lose every single game left on the schedule then?

 

[RUtrumpet92_rivals498139]

Penn State's road results to date, going backwards in time:

at Ohio State, L 79-67
at Purdue, L 95-78
at Michigan State, L 92-61
at Maryland, L 81-75

Penn State has two wins this year: vs Wisconsin 87-83 (a nice win), and vs Michigan 79-73

In B1G play only, they are dead last in scoring defense at 82.4 ppg allowed. Their margin of -7.3 per game is only ahead of our margin of -8.3 per game.

FG% allowed: .497 !!!

Dead last in rebound margin at -9.2 per game. We are up to -0.6 per game.

They are very good in turnover margin (+4.44 per game).

Conclusion - they appear to be weak inside. Feed the Big Dog, protect the basketball, hammer the glass, win the game.

RU 73
PSU 62

 

[cRURah]

ru 78
psu 67

 

[gregkoko]

RU 68
PSU 59

 

[rob kight]

We play more like the 2nd half against Purdue.( A little better performance in the first half and we have beaten number 2) More Gavin and JMD as they continue to improve their game and their confidence level. We take the lead at 5 minute mark and don't look back.
RU 72-62

 

[RUJMM78]

The fact that everyone in here has predicted a win is terrifying.

Rutgers 70-67

It has to do with the opponent and location of game.Both teame are bottom tier B1G Ten teams this season.

 

[fluoxetine]

It has to do with the opponent and location of game.Both teame are bottom tier B1G Ten teams this season.

I'm not saying they're unreasonable predictions (I predicted a win myself). I just feel like performance is always inversely proportional to the mood around here.

 

[bac2therac]

I'm not saying they're unreasonable predictions (I predicted a win myself). I just feel like performance is always inversely proportional to the mood around here.

If we arent winning at home vs a team terrible on the road that is perceived in the bottom 3 or 4 then what does that say about RU

RU has played pretty good in its last 3 league road wins especially defensively

I expect this game will be played at a higher pace than usual because Penn State is woeful defensively. Transition game and forcing turnovers a big key to more points

 

[fluoxetine]

If we arent winning at home vs a team terrible on the road that is perceived in the bottom 3 or 4 then what does that say about RU

RU has played pretty good in its last 3 league road wins especially defensively

I expect this game will be played at a higher pace than usual because Penn State is woeful defensively. Transition game and forcing turnovers a big key to more points

It would say we're not very good (which we already know) and that we had a bad game. We won't be favored *that* heavily, maybe 4-5 points.

 

[bac2therac]

Well this is the easiest game we have had since Stonehill

 

[PiscatawayMike]

This will be a game in which Woolfolk will be able to do some damage inside without looking overmatched. Woolfolk will score 8 points and Rutgers will prevail, 73-60.

 

[Scangg]

If we arent winning at home vs a team terrible on the road that is perceived in the bottom 3 or 4 then what does that say about RU

RU has played pretty good in its last 3 league road wins especially defensively

I expect this game will be played at a higher pace than usual because Penn State is woeful defensively. Transition game and forcing turnovers a big key to more points

PSU defense the perfect game for the true Griffiths breakout

 

[Degaz-RU]

PSU is terrible on the boards, getting outrebounded by an average of 38-32. With our improved rebounding recently, I think this will be a big advantage for us since we shoot so poorly.

PSU also doesn't block many shots. They've only blocked 59 shots this season, for an average of about 3 per game. In contrast, we have blocked 101 shots (59 by Cliff alone) for an average of 5.3 per game. We should be pounding the ball inside and/or dribble driving on every possession, which hopefully would lead to alley-oops or kickout threes.

This is a game where our small guards won't be overmatched, as PSU's two best scorers are Kanye Clary (who is 5-11) and Ace Baldwin (who is 6-1). And as a team, the Nits are not markedly better from deep (30.9% PSU vs. 29.4 RU).

Not-so-side note -- Clary is listed as "day to day" after suffering from a late injury against Minnesota the other night. According to one media report: "Against Minnesota, Clary appeared to run into a Minnesota player’s elbow and remained on the floor, holding his face. He left the court with a towel covering part of his face." So it looks like he may have broken his nose or something (my speculation). Surely, even if he plays, I have to imagine he will be wearing one of those facial masks, which should impact his effectiveness. And there's a chance he won't even play.

So, overall, this is a good "matchup" for us, and I predict Rutgers will win in a Stripe-Out juiced RAC.

Rutgers 72
PSU 63

 

[RUBOB72]

Except Bob72

Figure why not change it up stalker man ..you do realize I’m a 55 year fan… alum … donor … in both basketball and football …

 

[Luvscarletknights]

RU 82 State Penn 65

 

[Corycord1]

A breakout. We’re finally an 85 point team… RU 86 PSU 63 in a complete laugher

 

[Westcoast]

While I hope to gawd we win, I think back to the last game of the season a couple years ago when we should have crushed the nits and escaped when their last second 3 missed.