College basketball picks from Kern: Rutgers vs Penn State, Georgetown vs Marquette, and Maryland vs Minnesota

So how about we try to make a teaser work for us tonight in college hoops? Always sounds like a good plan, right?

I’m going to start with moving Penn State down to a pick-‘me against Rutgers at home. The Nits have lost two straight, including one at their place against Illinois. But they’re still 13-2 in Happy Valley. And Rutgers, which has started to slip a bit, is 1-7 away. Knights have dropped three of their last four. So, I’m going to take a chance that the Lions can at least get the win at home. Maybe even get the cover. But they are still playing without their second-best player, who has mono. It happens.

To go with that, let’s use Marquette at home giving 3 to Georgetown. I know the Warriors have lost their last three, but they were at Nova, to Creighton and at Providence. So, no great sin there. They won by four at G-town five weeks ago. The Hoys, who’ve lost two straight, are if nothing else a gritty bunch. But they just lost at DePaul, which isn’t good. I’m just figuring Warriors are due to right the ship a little and asking them to cover a field goal doesn’t seem like too big a deal.

If you’re so inclined, the one other game I was looking at was Maryland even-up at Minnesota. At first glance it feels like the Terps should be favored here, even on the road. But the Big Ten has been a homer league, and Terps are 4-5 away. They just lost at Ohio State. Minny, meanwhile, is 10-4 in, well, Minny. The Gophers did lose their last two at home, to Iowa and Indiana. Then they won big at Northwestern, which isn’t saying a whole lot. So maybe it’s just one of those feelings, cause on paper Maryland almost looks too easy. In that spirit take a shot on the Gophers. Or maybe tease them up to plus 5 with one of the first two I gave you. But not for too much. It’s still Minny we’re talking about. Sometimes discretion, after all, is the better part of whatever.