Texas vs Penn State Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for March 18 NCAA Tournament Game (Fireworks at Wells Fargo Arena)

Texas vs Penn State Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Game
• No. 5 Texas (27-8) vs. Penn State (23-13)
• Date: Saturday, March 18, 2023
• Time: 7:45 PM ET
• Venue: Wells Fargo Arena -- Des Moines, Iowa
• Coverage: CBS

The 2022-23 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 begins on Saturday, March. One Midwest Region matchup that college basketball enthusiasts look forward to is the battle between the No. 2 Texas Longhorns and No. 10 Penn State Nittany Lions.

Neither side broke much of a sweat in their respective first-round showdowns. On one hand, Texas blew No. 15 Colgate out 81-61 behind Sir'Jabari Rice's game-high 23 points off the bench. On the other, Penn State picked up a decisive 76-59 win over No. 7 Texas A&M as the Nittany Lions couldn't be stopped on the perimeter.

Which side has what it takes to advance to the Sweet 16?

Texas vs Penn State Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: TEXAS: (-235) | PENNST: (+190)
• Spread: TEXAS: -5.5 (-110) | PENNST: +5.5 (-110)
• Total: 140.5 -- Over: (-105) | Under: (-115)

Texas enters this contest as a clear favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 7:45 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 140.5 points with the under being favored at -115 odds.

Texas vs Penn State Betting Trends

• Texas has covered the spread 18 times in 35 games.
• The Longhorns are 9-10 as 5.5-point favorites or more.
• Texas has played 35 games this season, and 16 of them have hit the over.
• Against the spread, Penn State is 21-14-0 this season.
• As 5.5-point underdogs or more, the Nittany Lions are 3-3 against the spread.
• There have been 19 Penn State games (out of 35) that went over the total this year.

Texas Rank	Texas AVG		Penn State AVG	Penn State Rank
40th	77.9	Points Scored	72.4	163rd
89th	67.2	Points Allowed	68.1	121st
172nd	31.9	Rebounds	30	279th
162nd	8.7	Off. Rebounds	5.3	358th
192nd	7.3	3pt Made	10.5	4th
17th	16.2	Assists	13.9	112th
100th	11.1	Turnovers	8.4	4th

Texas vs Penn State Prediction & Pick

Texas owns one of the better offenses in college basketball, averaging 77.9 PPG (No. 28). While Penn State is the more accurate of the two teams, it only averages 72.4 PPG (No. 133). Even if the Nittany Lions turn to their three-point shooters again, the Longhorns are only allowing an average of five threes on 29.4% shooting over their last three outings.

Penn State's defense also isn't good enough to disrupt Texas' attack. The Nittany Lions tally the 11th-fewest steals while forcing the third-fewest giveaways in the nation. That's led to opponents averaging 14.0 assists against them (T-No. 265), which is bad news considering how the Longhorns operate on a 16.2 APG clip (No. 14).

Final Score Prediction: Texas: 79 | Penn State: 74

Texas vs Penn State Best Bet

With limited betting options at the time of writing, I recommend taking the over on the 140.5-point total. Both sides are capable of putting up points when their offenses start to roll. That was proven by Texas and Penn State combining for 157 points in their first-round matchups.

With the over being 5-1 in PSU's last six games on a Saturday and 4-1 in Texas' last five against a Big Ten foe, I see more points being scored than projected. A ticket to the Sweet 16 will only motivate each offense more.

Bet: Over 140.5 Points (-105)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.