Penn State vs Utah 3/29/18 - NIT Picks & Predictions

On Thursday March 29, the Penn State Nittany Lions will play the Utah Utes in the NIT championship game from Madison Square Garden in New York City. Penn State reached the final by defeating Temple, Notre Dame, Marquette and Mississippi State. The Nittany Lions routed the Bulldogs in the semifinal 75-60 in their last outing behind the 21 points of Tony Carr and 16 by Shep Garner.

Utah reached the final by defeating UC Davis, LSU, Saint Mary’s and in the semifinals the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers 69-64. In that semifinal, Justin Bibbins led the Utes with 19 points on Tuesday night. Mike Watkins will not play for Penn State due to a knee injury. Jayce Johnson is questionable for Utah with an ankle injury. Tony Carr leads Penn State in scoring and leads the team in assists averaging 19.7 points and 4.8 assists per game. Four other Nittany Lions are averaging double figures in scoring. Lamar Stevens is the second leading scorer and the leading rebounder averaging 15.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. As a team, Penn State is shooting 45.9% from the field and 38.7% from 3-point territory. Penn State scores an average of 74.6 points per game, while allowing an average of 66.7.

Justin Bibbins leads Utah in scoring with an average of 14.8 points per game. Tyler Rawson is the leading rebounder averaging 6.9 per game. Three more Utes average double figures in scoring. As a team, the Utes are shooting 46.1% from the field and 36.9% from 3-point territory. During the season, Utah has scored an average of 73.7 points per game, while allowing an average of 68.1.