Butler vs. Penn State Basketball Prediction, Odds, Line, Pick, and Preview: November 14 | 2022-23 NCAAB Season

The Penn State Nittany Lions (2-0) will host the Butler Bulldogs (1-0) in a Big 12-Big East matchup on Monday night. Butler dominated their season opener, winning 89-53 over the New Orleans Privateers of the Southland Conference. NC State transfer Manny Bates, who missed all but one game last season from injury, scored 25 points on 12-of-15 from the field in the win. Another transfer, Eric Hunter of Purdue, added 14 points, while last season's leading scorer, Chuck Harris, had 17. Thad Matta, who led the Ohio State Buckeyes to the title game in 2007, is back on the sidelines after taking the previous five seasons off. After five seasons of decline with the Bulldogs, former bench boss LaVall Jordan was let go, opening the door for Matta.

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Butler vs. Penn State Betting Odds

Team	Spread	Over/Under	Moneyline
Butler Bulldogs	+5.5	0144.5	+225
Penn State Nittany Lions	-5.5	u144.5	-265

All Lines Provided by DraftKings Sportsbook

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ShotQuality Tale of the Tape

Penn State overpowered their opponents in the first two games, beating Winthrop 93-68 and Loyola Maryland 90-65. Like the Bulldogs, the Nittany Lions have had immediate returns from veteran transfers. Camren Wynter, formerly of Drexel, is averaging 13.5 points in the early going, almost matching his numbers at his former school. Andrew Funk, who played 110 games for Bucknell over four seasons, is averaging 13.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, and three assists in two games. Three other seniors join Wynter and Funk in the starting lineup, all of whom were at Penn State last season.

The Butler Bulldogs and Penn State Nittany Lions have plenty of ShotQuality similarities. They were between -1.00 - 1.00 in record luck and around the mid-200s in adjusted ShotQuality. Offensively, Penn State was well-rounded in the half-court game. They were top 90 in frequency in catch & shoot three-pointers, pick & roll screens, and post-up shots. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs excelled in stopping the post-up but got exposed in the P&R game.

Like the Nittany Lions, the Bulldogs also possessed a well-rounded half-court game in the 2021-22 season. The only difference is that they used more isolation and pick & rolls instead of relying on any resemblance of a post-up game. Unfortunately, Butler's opponents on Monday night played against the P&R 26% of the time while allowing only 0.84 SQ PPP.

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Butler vs. Penn State Prediction

Per KenPom, both these squads are on the lower end of the pace of the play metric "Adjusted Tempo." Penn State is 348th, while Butler is 124th. They each like the half-court game and want to set up quality looks regardless of the shot clock. The play here is the under, especially with the two teams trying to grab a somewhat respectable win in the non-conference season.

Prediction: Under 144.5 (-110)

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