Henry Roldán
The second round of March Madness in the Midwest has a big game in store for us when Penn State vs Texas meet this coming Saturday.
With a great offensive, the Nittany Lions upset Texas A&M in the first round 59-76,while the Longhorns crushed Colgate with a score of 81-61. Keep reading to find more about the Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas Longhorns game for Round 2 of March Madness.
Picks and Predictions for the Penn State Nittany Lions vs Texas Longhorns NCAA Basketball Championship Round 2 Game on March 18 2023
- Where: Wells Fargo Arena, Des Moines, Iowa
- When: Saturday, March 18, 2023, 7:45 PM E.T.
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Penn State Nittany Lions Betting Preview
- Overall Record 23-13.
- Conference Record: 10-10.
The Penn State squad pulled off one of the round 1 upsets in the Midwest by defeating the conference’s 7th team, Texas A&M, with a masterful offensive performance.
Despite ranking 12th in the three-point shooting percentage during the regular season with 38.9, their performance against the Aggies exceeded all expectations. The team ended up shooting an impressive 59.1% from long distance.
Moreover, they relied on the great performance of Andre Funk, who finished the game with 27 points and who converted eight of the 10 three-point shots he attempted on that matchday.
On the defensive end, things also worked out for the Nittany Lions, a team that conceded 68.2 points per game during the season and ended up allowing 34.7% of its opponents’ long-range shots.
However, Texas A&M was limited to just over 33% shooting from the field and just 29.4% from long distance. Such a performance was enough for the Aggies to score just 22 points in the first half to put them behind on the board.
Texas Longhorns Betting Preview
- Overall Record: 27-8.
- Conference Record: 12-6
The Longhorns also had an enjoyable afternoon in their game against Colgate, even though their opponents were expected to provide more resistance because of their three-point shooting abilities.
It is important to note that Colgate finished the regular season as the top-ranked team in the nation in terms of shooting percentage from long distance. However, Texas’ defense was able to control Colgate’s long distance shooting, allowing them to make just 3 out of 25 attempts, just 20%.
This is a strategy they will have to use again this Saturday against the Nittany Lions, who had an incredible day against the Aggies by shooting nearly 60% from three-point range.
Nevertheless, the Longhorns’ offensive performance was the crucial factor. While Colgate was unable to bring out its greatest strength, Texas was able to improve on its weakness on offense by finishing with 56.5% shooting accuracy from long distance.
It is important to keep in mind that the Longhorns scored an average of 78.8 points per game, putting them in 30th place in the country, but that they ranked 168th in three-point shooting with a percentage of 34.5% shooting for the season.
JefeBet Prediction
Both teams have very talented offenses, and therefore the difference will be made by the team that can play defensively better. In this case the Longhorns are a little more solid than the Nittany Lions and that will be definitive to win the commitment.
That said, don’t expect a low-scoring encounter. Both Penn State and Texas averaged more than 72 points per game in the regular round and were merciless from the long distance in round 1 of March Madness.
Prediction: Over (PEN 72 – TEX 79).
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