How to Watch, What to Watch, When Penn State Basketball Visits Northwestern

The Wildcats have one Big Ten win, but the Nittany Lions still are sizable underdogs for their game in Evanston.

Penn State Nittany Lions forward Ivan Juric (3) grabs a rebound away from Ohio State Buckeyes center Ivan Njegovan (7) during the second half of the NCAA men's basketball game at the Schottenstein Center. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State men’s basketball is back on the road, still trying to get its first conference victory of the season. The Nittany Lions are headed to Evanston, Illinois, on Thursday night to face Northwestern. 

This is the only matchup between Penn State and Northwestern this season. Last year, when they met at the Bryce Jordan Center, the Nittany Lions won by four points in a game that saw 14 lead changes and 11 tie scores. 

Penn State has historically had the edge against Northwestern even when playing on the road, where it’s 17-13 all-time. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the Penn State-Northwestern matchup.

How to watch, stream Penn State vs. Northwestern

There's only streaming for this game, as Peacock will carry Penn State-Northwestern from Welsh Ryan Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. ET, with Chris Vosters and Tre Demps on the call. If you don’t have the subscription service, the Penn State Sports Network with Steve Jones and Dick Jerardi has you covered with its radio broadcast. 

What is the Penn State vs. Northwestern betting line?

Despite having just one Big Ten win, Northwestern is an 8.5-point favorite over the Nittany Lions, according to DraftKings. The over/under is 149.5 points. Penn State has won three of its last five games against the Wildcats, including last year at the Bryce Jordan Center.

Northwestern is ranked well above Penn State in the latest KenPom ratings. The Wildcats are 62nd, while Penn State, which has not beaten a Power 4 team this season, is 126th.

RELATED: Mike Rhoades remains confident Penn State is on the right path

About the Penn State Nittany Lions

Ohio State Buckeyes forward Devin Royal (21) defends Penn State Nittany Lions guard Kayden Mingo (4) during the first half of the NCAA men's basketball game at the Schottenstein Center. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Penn State (9-11, 0-9 Big Ten) is on a seven-game losing streak and has won only one true road game this season. It came close to defeating Ohio State in Columbus on Monday but couldn’t quite finish the comeback. 

The Nittany Lions have put together some strong closing stretches to games, but they’ve largely been too late. Opponents have built first-half leads (at least 18 points in the past three games) to quickly put games out of reach.

Last week, Wisconsin went on a 38-9 run in the last 10 minutes of the first half and ultimately won by 27 points. Penn State has trailed by double digits at halftime in five conference games, so any second-half run it makes rarely equalizes the score.

“I thought we adjusted [against Ohio State in the second half] and even made a run, and it’s because of our defense," Penn State coach Mike Rhoades said. “We got consecutive stops, we got clean rebounds, we scored a little bit in transition because of the defense, and I think that was a big difference.”

Penn State needs more consistency defensively to limit those early onslaughts. The Nittany Lions have been good at forcing steals, averaging 7.1 per game to rank second in the conference. Against Ohio State, however, the Buckeyes caught Penn State in several first-half turnovers that proved costly. 

Freshman guard Kayden Mingo, despite missing three games, still leads the team in scoring, averaging 14 per game. Freddie Dilione V, Penn State’s other primary ballhandler, is close behind with 13.5 per game. 

“Everyone’s going to play [Mingo] differently, ball screen coverage is going to be different, and you know, he’s 21 games into his college career, and we’re all expecting so much of him because we need a lot from him,” Rhoades said. “But he’s got to ride the wave too. Some games he’s only gonna have six points and eight assists, some games you might get 16 points and four assists, but you have to continue to learn and get better.”

About the Northwestern Wildcats

Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) drives past UCLA Bruins guard Eric Freeny (8) in the second half at Pauley Pavilion. | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Northwestern (9-11, 1-8 Big Ten) has defeated only USC through nine conference games and did so on the road. Most recently, the Wildcats lost by seven points to UCLA. Northwestern is only the second team below .500 that Penn State will face this season, which should make this a balanced matchup. 

The Wildcats' biggest threat will be Nick Martinelli, who averages 23.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. The senior forward is the highest-scoring player in the conference. Limiting Martinelli’s shot attempts early will be pivotal for the Nittany Lions. 

“I went back and watched some of those games where other teams had some great runs on us,” Rhoades said. “We’re getting beat way too much, and then [opponents] get going and we’ve really struggled letting good players get going. It’s not even just them making shots, them getting opportunities to get into the flow of the game.”

Arrinten Page (12.1 ppg) and Jayden Reid (10.9) are the two other Wildcats with double-digit scoring averages. Northwestern has struggled in rebounding, as has Penn State, so the battles on the glass will be pivotal. Whoever gets the most second-chance opportunities will make a difference in this game. 

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Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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