This matchup between the Canisius Golden Griffins and Penn State Nittany Lions will take place at Rec Hall. The game starts at 7:00 pm ET on Thursday, Dec. 10.
The Nittany Lions lost to George Washington 76-66 on Tuesday. Shep Garner finished with 22 points to lead the game. The Golden Griffins are coming off a tough 78-76 loss to Quinnipiac on Saturday. Phil Valenti had a game-high 25 points.
Penn State is a six-point favorite against Canisius and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at 145 points. The Nittany Lions enter the game with records of 5-3 Straight Up (SU) and 3-4 Against The Spread (ATS). Not making mistakes with the ball is a staple of the Penn State offense, which averages just 10.5 turnovers per game.
Over on the other bench, the Golden Griffins have 3-4 SU and 2-3-1 ATS records. Offensively, they average 87.3 points per game, which is good for 12th in the country. The Golden Griffins convert their free throws at a high percentage, ranking 44th in the nation at .746. The Golden Griffins are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 17.0 assists per game.
Penn State and Canisius will be facing off for their first head-to-head game in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Can, ATS Winner – Can, O/U – Over
Notes
Penn State is 8-4 SU in its last 12 games.
Penn State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home.
Canisius is one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 87.3 points per game (ranked 12th). Penn State, on the other hand, allows 67.2 points per game (ranked 108th).
Ranked 29th, the Canisius Golden Griffins have an offensive rating of 117.4. The Penn State Nittany Lions rank 194th with a defensive rating of just 102.0.
Penn State has an average field goal percentage of 39.9%. Canisius is a losing 2-4 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Canisius Golden Griffins both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. Penn State is 312th and 290th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Canisius is 188th and 126th in these categories.
Canisius ranks 38th in assists, recording 17.0 per game. Penn State performs worse at 341st with 9.8 assists per game.
Canisius, the 92nd-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 39.6 rebounds per game. Penn State does worse, ranked 182nd with 37.2.
The Canisius Golden Griffins make an average of 4.9 steals per game. When the Penn State Nittany Lions give up 4 or more steals, they are a winning 3-1.
