Dave's College Basketball Picks, Feb. 5: Penn State at Michigan

Penn State (17-5, 6-3) at Michigan (14-8, 4-6)

Line: Michigan -3

Penn State played a pretty good game in beating Michigan State at the Breslin Center 72-68 on Sunday.  The Nittany Lions shot 56.2 percent from the field, including 10-for-20 from behind the arc.

Beating a top 10 ranked team on the road for their fourth straight win shows Penn State is a legitimate threat to win the conference. However, when you look at their 8-17 free throw shooting or the 14 turnovers compared to 10 assists, you see there is still room to improve.  

The Michigan free-fall continued on Saturday as Michigan self-destructed in a 49-67 loss to Purdue. Up by a point at half, Manny Harris was caught throwing an elbow early in the second half and was ejected from the game. It was all Purdue from that moment on.

Losers of five out of six, the Wolverines now get to play a surging Penn State, UConn, and league-leading Michigan State in their next three contests.

ATS

Penn State is 11-4 against the spread, including 5-2 on the road.

Michigan is 8-8-1 against the spread, including 7-2 at home.

Michigan is 6-3-1 against the spread in their last 10 matchups with Penn State.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Penn State comes out wearing a few helmets borrowed from Joe Pa. Michigan has had a player kicked out of the game for elbow throwing in each of the last two games. Outside of the elbow thing, there is not much intimidation by Michigan. Penn State should continue to roll here.

Dave’s Pick: Penn State +3

See all of Dave's College Basketball Picks Against the Spread at cbbplace.com.