Indiana big underdog vs. Penn State at the Palestra in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – There have been many ups and downs during Mike Woodson’s three-plus years as head coach at Indiana, but one of the most troubling trends is the Hoosiers’ inability to beat Penn State.

Woodson lost five of six games against the Nittany Lions before ultimately defeating them 61-59 in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis, Minnesota last season. And this is an average Penn State team that has only reached one NCAA Tournament (2023) during this run. Still, they have guards who can pressure and make threes, and Indiana has struggled with rosters like that.

Oddsmakers expect more of the same on Sunday when the two teams face off in an alternate home game against Penn State at The Palestra in Philadelphia. According to gambling website FanDuel.com, the 12-2 Nittany Lions are 6.5-point favorites over the Hoosiers (11-3). The over/under is 158.5.

The game begins at noon ET and will be televised on the Big Ten Network. (Link to view story below.) It will be the fifth time Penn State has played a Big Ten home game during the Christmas break at The Palestra, which was built in 1927 and is one of the most iconic buildings in college.

Indiana has been an underdog twice this season, and both finished poorly, falling late to both Gonzaga and Nebraska.

Here’s what we know so far about how Indiana and Penn State have fared compared to point spread this season.

UPDATE…Rutgers is 12-2 this season and 2-1 in Big Ten play. They resumed league play on Thursday evening with an 84-80 victory over Northwestern in State College, Pennsylvania.

Penn State is just 6-8 against the slate this season. They had an easy schedule, only playing two Power 5 teams outside of the conference schedule. They beat a Virginia Tech team 6-8 but lost to Clemson, both of the ACC. Here’s what Penn State did right in front of and against the spread this season: