Canisius vs Penn State Prediction 11/2/2026 Today’s College Basketball Picks

The Canisius Golden Griffins and the Penn State Nittany Lions meet Monday in college basketball action from the Bryce Jordan Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. 

Canisius Golden Griffins vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction

I’m on the under in this game. I don’t trust Penn State laying a massive number in a spot like this, but Canisius is also broken and retooling after a down year last year and even then they didn’t bring in much talent to fill the voids. I think this comes in under the total.

Canisius Golden Griffins Recap

The Canisius Golden Griffins come into the 2026-27 season looking to leave 2025-26 in the rear view after going just 10-21, including a 5-15 mark in MAAC play. With their 12th place finish in the conference standings, the Golden Griffins would not qualify for the conference tournament with only the top ten teams making the Metro Conference tournament. The program is in some serious trouble right now in year three under Jim Christian, with this being a completely new team with a lot of green players that haven’t really seen much recent action. Only Preist Ryan saw more than 20 MPG at the D-I level last year with Cleveland State, averaging 7.2 points and 4 rebounds per game. Will Fowler is the big get for Canisius after averaging 19.9 points and 3.5 assists for D-II Converse in 17 games last season. This is a team that lacks continuity and D-I experience and it’s probably going to show in a lot of their results this season, but out of conference play and once we get into the meat and potatoes of Metro conference play.

Why the Canisius Golden Griffins will win

• Penn State has lost 11 of its last 12 night games.
• Penn State has lost the first half in each of its last seven games.

Penn State Nittany Lions Recap

The Penn State Nittany Lions come into the 2026-27 campaign looking to rebound from a disappointing 2025-26 season, finishing the year at 12-20 overall including a 3-17 mark in Big Ten play, finishing in last place in the Big Ten standings. The Nittany Lions would fall to Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament, ending their season in the process. The Nittany Lions get a chance to hit the reset button, led by the return of Ivan Juric, who had 10.2 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last season as a 7-foot freshman alongside some solid transfers coming in like Jay Rodgers from Central Connecticut State, who had 11 points and 6.9 APG and Roberts Blums, who added 12.4 points and 3.4 rebounds for Davidson last season. Brant Byers also had 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds for a solid Miami Ohio team and Dasonte Bowen brings some backcourt depth to Penn State after chipping in 10.9 points, 3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game for St. Bonaventure last season. This still looks like the worst roster in the Big Ten going into 2026-27, but there is a little bit of upside that there can be improvements from last year, though it’s not hard to step up from the debacle that was last season.

Why the Penn State Nittany Lions will win

• Penn State has won each of its last 20 night games against non-Conference opponents at Bryce Jordan Center.
• Canisius has lost each of its last 18 road night games against non-Conference opponents.
• Canisius has lost the first half in eight of its last nine road night games against non-Conference opponents.

Chris Ruffolo's Pick: Under 152.5