How to Watch Penn State vs. Michigan: Tip-Off Time, TV Channel, Odds

The Nittany Lions visit No. 2 Michigan looking to complete the upset they almost delivered in January.

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Kayden Mingo drives the ball towards the basket to make the winning shot against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State men’s basketball finally got its first Big Ten win of the season, defeating Minnesota on Sunday. But the time for celebrating is over as the Nittany Lions head to Ann Arbor to face No. 2 Michigan on Thursday night. 

This is the second matchup between the teams this season. In January, Penn State battled the Wolverines in the Bryce Jordan Center, falling just short, 74-72. The Nittany Lions were without point guard Kayden Mingo in that game. The freshman missed three games but has been back since Jan. 18. 

Penn State trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half but held Michigan without a field goal in the final three minutes of the game. Ivan Juric led the Nittany Lions in scoring with 20 points, and Michigan’s leading scorer L.J. Cason had 14.

Can the Nittany Lions upset the second-ranked Wolverines on the road? Here's what to watch, and how to watch, when Penn State visits Michigan.

How to watch, stream Penn State vs. Michigan

Penn State visits second-ranked Michigan for a 6:30 p.m. ET Big Ten tip-off at the Crisler Center. FS1 will televise, with Bill Raftery and Connor Onion on the broadcast. The game will stream on the Fox Sports app.

Can't watch? Listen to Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi on the Penn State Sports Network.

What is the Penn State-Michigan betting line?

The Wolverines are 24.5-point favorites, according to DraftKings, which is the same spread as their first meeting in State College. The Nittany Lions lost that game by just two in early January. The over/under is 161.5 points.

Michigan is the No. 2 team in the latest KenPom rankings, while Penn State is 129th. According to ESPN Analytics, Michigan has a 97.9 percent chance to win.

About the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Mike Rhoades reacts to a call from the bench during the first half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Bryce Jordan Center. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Penn State (10-12, 1-10 Big Ten) has won only one true road game this season (at New Haven in December). If Penn State tops Michigan at the Crisler Center, it would be the first true road win over a top-five team in program history. 

Under head coach Mike Rhoades, Penn State has four wins against top-15 ranked teams but none against a top-five team. Penn State is 3-24 in Ann Arbor.

Rhoades vented after the January game vs. Michigan, in which Penn State had a late possession to tie or win despite playing without Mingo. The loss was the fourth of a 10-game Big Ten losing streak that Penn State ended with the win over Minnesota. 

"I'm pissed. I'm not dejected. I didn't come here to do this bulls---," Rhoades told reporters in State College after the game. “I want to win, and I don't care if it's a 1-point game or a 30-point game. I've been coaching long enough, and we all go through this, but I want to win and I want these guys to win. And to win, a lot of things go into it. So yeah, I'm pissed."

Mingo and Freddie Dilione V lead the Nittany Lions in scoring with 14.1 and 13.9 points per game, respectively. Against Minnesota, Dilione matched his career-high with 25, and Mingo had 14, including the first game-winning shot of his career. 

Penn State hasn’t been very consistent with rebounding. When it allows teams to make offensive boards early in games and score second-chance points, Penn State often falls into steep deficits. However, the Nittany Lions were much better on the glass against the Golden Gophers, which helped them take a substantial first-half lead. 

The Nittany Lions were sloppy down the stretch, allowing Minnesota to claw back. But Rhoades called that a good learning experience in protecting a lead.

“Just having enough grit with the circumstances we were under, with guys out, and just finding a way to grind it out and win the game,” Rhoades said. “The end of the game is something we really have to improve. We haven’t been in that situation enough, and [I’m] just proud of our guys to find a way. In this league, it’s pretty unforgiving so you just have to get ready and move on to the next one, win or lose.”

Penn State played Minnesota without 7-foot forward Ivan Juric, who was sick, while forwards Sasa Ciani and Tibor Mirtic were out with injuries. 

“Because of the circumstance we were in, we had to find a little bit more on the defensive end and had to make sure that they understood exactly what we needed to do,” Rhoades said. 

Rhoades called all three players day-to-day. Guard Eli Rice also left the game against Minnesota early after colliding heads with a player. He was being evaluated for a concussion.

About the Michigan Wolverines

Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg goes up for a basket against the Michigan State Spartans in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Michigan (20-1, 10-1 Big Ten) has won six straight games since a 91-88 loss to Wisconsin. Michigan ranks eighth nationally in scoring (90.5 points per game), and Penn State is tied for 183rd (76.5). Yaxel Lendeborg leads Michigan in points, averaging 14.7 per game. He scored 10 at the BJC in January. Lendeborg also leads the team in rebounding. 

Before their first matchup, Rhoades praised the Wolverines for playing with efficiency. 

“I think as you're watching tape, their length, their athleticism is all the way around their roster and the problems it creates for opponents,” Rhoades said in January. “Everyone’s talking about their efficiency on offense, but I think it starts with their defense making it so hard for the other team to get into rhythm. I think they get rebounds and turnovers that turn into a really good offense for them and they have multiple players that can shoot the ball and really finish at the rim.”

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