The Penn State Nittany Lions are heading to Connecticut to face the New Haven Chargers in a very interesting college basketball game on Saturday. The Chargers are in their first year of Division I basketball and will host the Nittany Lions in the second game of a back-to-back for the Chargers. Before tip-off from New Haven, you can get my Penn State vs New Haven prediction below.
Pick: Penn State -16.5
Confidence: ★★★★☆
Penn State got off to a fine start with a 76-68 win over Fairfield Stags, rallying from a late deficit behind freshman guard Melih Tunca’s 19 points and strong bench contributions. He posted 19 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds in that opener. The Lions’ front line and new internationals have blended well early, and the Nittany Lions will look for a 2-0 start here.
New Haven enters this game 0-2 after losses to the UConn Huskies (79-55) and at home against the Columbia Lions (71-53). The Chargers are making the jump from Division II to Division I this season, which means they will face huge growing pains. Here, they have to deal with playing for the second straight day, on top of being at a talent disadvantage in most of the games that they play.
One of the biggest storylines in this game is the fact that this game is taking place at all. Penn State going on the road to face a team that is playing just its third Division I game is a very cool story and one that will be cool no matter how lopsided this game might end up.
Score Projection: Penn State 80 – New Haven 59
Win Probability: Penn State 88%, New Haven 12%
I'm projecting a win and a cover for Penn State on the road against New Haven today. This is a much smaller venue than Penn State is used to playing in. That shouldn't stop the Nittany Lions from getting the job done in this matchup. I'll bank on the Chargers playing on tired legs here and for Penn State to win this one by 20 points or more.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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