Kern's picking Penn State vs Michigan St. and Rutgers vs Maryland plus Big Ten and MAC teasers

OK, we’ve been on the wrong side of some close beats lately, so time to try and change the karma.

Let’s start with a teaser of Iowa to win at home against Purdue with Marquette to win at DePaul. Sounds simple enough. Only wish it were. But Iowa is 3-1 in its last four, and the home team is 5-1 in the last six in this series. Purdue beat Iowa by like a hundred in the first meeting, but Iowa is a lot better at home. Marquette has dropped three of its last four, but the losses were to good teams. DePaul is not a good team. The line just seems a little low, but Marquette is on the road so I guess you never know. Good thing Milwaukee isn’t that far from Chicago.

Then let’s go with a MAC teaser, just because we can. I’ll try Bowling Green +10 at Kent State and Toledo +5 at Northern Illinois. My friend out there seems to like both of those sides, so that’s good enough for me. But it is the MAC so I’d tread real carefully. Just a taste should suffice. You can thank him later.

Finally, I’ve got two single bets in the Big Ten that I’m not necessarily in love with but I’m willing to take a chance on anyway. Let’s take Rutgers -1.5 at home to Maryland. I know Maryland’s the better team, and Rutgers has started to slide. And the Terps have also been one of the more fortunate teams in terms of how they’ve been able to pull some out. Nothing wrong with that. And maybe it’ll continue. But I’m hoping the Scarlet Knights, who’ve won five of their last six at home, can find a way. Then we’ve got Penn State, who’s also slid a bit without their second-best player in the lineup, +1.5 against visiting Michigan State. The Nits won at MSU, one of their biggest wins ever. This is their last home game, and it’s tough to beat Tom Izzo twice in one season. But I think they can. And hey, if you’re not thrilled on the confidence level, you could always tease the Knights and Nits to give you a little wiggle room just in case you need it. Of course then both have to come through, which can often be the dilemma. Just saying. You always have options.