Penn State vs. UCLA Preview/Open Thread: Still Seeking That Elusive Big Ten Win

How To Watch

Who: UCLA Bruins
Record: 11-5 (3-2 Big Ten)
When: Tonight, 8:30 PM EST
Where: Bryce Jordan Center; University Park, PA
Kenpom Ranking (PSU): 40 (103)
NET Ranking (PSU): 48 (101)
TV: FS1 | Noah Reed (PXP) and Donny Marshall (Analyst)
Radio: Penn State Sports Network
Vegas Line: UCLA -4.5 (FanDuel)
Over/Under: 148.5 (FanDuel)

What To Watch For

• Mr. Blackwood Rising – With Kayden Mingo still out of commission for the foreseeable future and with key bench player Tibor Mirtic also out with an injury he sustained during the loss to Purdue last weekend, it’s been up to other Nittany Lions to step up and try to fill the void. The other highly-touted freshman Mason Blackwood has been one of those guys, playing a career-high 21 minutes and scoring nine points against the Boilermakers. He will need to provide more of that scoring off the bench if Penn State is going to have a chance of pulling off their first win in Big Ten play this season.
• Not-So-Road Warriors – UCLA only has one true road win, which was an 82-80 squeaker at Washington. They have lost to Wisconsin and Iowa in their other true road games, and their only other Big Ten wins were at home against basement dwellers Oregon and Maryland. While the Bruins are still favored tonight, this feels like a more doable win opportunity compared after playing three straight ranked opponents in Illinois, Michigan, and Purdue.

Prediction

Call me hopelessly optimistic (you kind of have to be if you’re going to be a lifelong PSU hoops fan like myself), but I have been impressed with how competitive PSU against a pair teams I would’ve expected to destroy them by 20-plus points, being a back-ironed three-pointer away from pulling off the upset of the college hoops season, thus far. I think the team’s effort and lack of quit will pay dividends starting tonight, as Freddie Dilione and Eli Rice go off from downtown, while Blackwood and Melih Tunca provide some critical scoring off the bench.

Penn State 76, UCLA 74

YAY HOOPS (Open Thread)

This preview will also double up as the open thread to comment away in during game action. As always, open thread rules apply: No politics, religion, illegal streams, or NSFW content, and be civil.