The Massachusetts Minutemen take on the Penn State Nittany Lions on Monday at the William D. Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass. The Nittany Lions are looking for improvement this season after last year's 11-14 finish and 7-12 record in the Big Ten. UMass will try to shake off the sting from a loss to Yale in its last game, and has plenty of work to do ahead of a competitive Atlantic 10 schedule.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. The Nittany Lions are favored by four points in the latest Massachusetts vs. Penn State odds from Caesars Sportsbook, and the over-under is set at 142.5. Before entering any Penn State vs. UMass picks, you'll want to see the college basketball predictions from the model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,100 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Massachusetts vs. Penn State. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Penn State vs. UMass:
- Massachusetts vs. Penn State spread: Penn State -4
- Massachusetts vs. Penn State over-under: 142.5 points
What you need to know about Massachusetts
The Minutemen were shellshocked after a 20-point defeat to Yale on Friday, 91-71. Yale made 54 percent of its field-goal attempts, and nearly 42.9 percent of its 3-pointers in the win. UMass did finish with three players in double-figures: Noah Fernandes (13 points), Rich Kelly, and Trent Buttrick (11 points apiece).
Through two games, UMass has done a good job of getting to the foul line, and has taken 51 free throws, but the Minutemen have only made 62 percent of them. Penn State put opponents on the line 18.8 times per game last season, so for UMass to stand a chance, the Minutemen have to hit from the charity stripe at a higher rate than they have to start the season.
What you need to know about Penn State
Penn State started 2021-22 with a breezy 75-59 win over Youngstown State on Wednesday. John Harrar and Seth Lundy were among the main playmakers for Penn State as the former posted a double-double on 16 points and 14 boards and the latter had 23 points in addition to six rebounds. Lundy is expected to take a big step forward, after he started 15 games and averaged 10.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game last season.
New Penn State head coach Micah Shrewsberry came into the job needing to find a new backcourt combination after the team's leading scorers from last season, guards Myreon Jones and Izaiah Brockington moved on. Sam Sessoms made a good case for himself against Youngstown, and finished with 17 points and eight assists in the win. Transfer guard Jalen Pickett had an inefficient night, and scored just nine points on a 3-for-10 night from the floor.
How to make Penn State vs. Massachusetts picks
The model model is leaning over on the total, and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
Who wins Massachusetts vs. Penn State? And which side of the spread is a must-back? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks
