The Penn State Nittany Lions and Kentucky Wildcats occupy opposite sides of the tracks in the college basketball world. They’ll meet this weekend in the Hall Of Fame Tip-Off Tournament.
Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Kentucky Wildcats – Saturday, November 19
Sports betting line: N/A
Why Penn State Will Win
The college football betting experts who have been following Penn State football have been drenched in controversy over the past few weeks. They might want to take a break this weekend. Before the Nittany Lion gridiron team plays Ohio State, the basketball team at PSU will take on Kentucky in Uncasville, Connecticut, a part of the Mohegan Sun casino in a tribally-owned portion of the New England region. Penn State is hitting the hardwood this season with a new coach, first-year man Patrick Chambers, who left Boston University to seek life in the Big Ten after former PSU coach Ed DeChellis – of his own accord and free will – sought out the Navy job in the offseason. Penn State’s new look and feel are still going to require an adjustment period, but through three games, the Nittany Lions are unbeaten. They haven’t taken on daunting opponents, but their lineup has meshed as reasonably as anyone could have expected in State College. The other reason why Penn State might have a chance in this game is that Kentucky is coming off a very draining and mentally taxing game against another national power in the sport of college basketball, the Kansas Jayhawks. Kentucky handled KU, 75-65, but the effort level required by that game was considerable. Kentucky could very well experience a mental letdown, and that’s exactly how so many early-season upsets unfold in a sport that is increasingly governed by parity and unpredictability with each passing year.
Why Kentucky Will Win
When you do your homework and assess your sportsbook review on this game, you only need to look at the talent level on each side. Kentucky brings Terrence Jones – a likely first-round pick in next year’s NBA Draft (quite possibly a lottery pick) – and sharpshooting guard Doron Lamb to the table, among others. Penn State will have an extremely difficult time guarding Kentucky on the perimeter. The Wildcats have top-shelf talent and will be quicker than Penn State at every position on the floor. Coach John Calipari has assembled a formidable lineup, and it’s precisely because he has an impressive collection of athletes that “Coach Cal” will preach about the need for UK to be mentally tough in this game. Calipari’s first order of business will be to guard against a letdown. Because his players are young and want to buy into the experience of playing for the University of Kentucky – one of college basketball’s signature blue-chip programs – one should expect the Wildcats to take this game seriously.
Who Will Win
It’s Kentucky’s game to lose. If the Wildcats treat this game seriously, they should win by a substantial margin. The sense here is that Kentucky will be businesslike and focused. Penn State will get run out of the gym in Connecticut.
College Basketball Betting Pick: Kentucky