Teams geared up to make a deep NCAA Tournament run clash on Saturday when the No. 10 seed Penn State Nittany Lions face the No. 2 seed and Big 12 Conference Tournament champion Texas Longhorns in an NCAA Tournament Midwest Region second-round matchup in Des Moines, Iowa. The Nittany Lions (23-13, 10-10 Big Ten), who have won nine of 11, including a 76-59 win over Texas A&M in the first round, are making their first tournament appearance since 2011. The Longhorns (27-8, 12-6 Big 12), who have won five straight, are making their third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Texas, which defeated Colgate 81-61 on Thursday, has not won two consecutive tournament games since the 2008 season, while Penn State last accomplished that in 2001.

The game from Wells Fargo Arena will tip off at 7:45 p.m. ET. The Longhorns are favored by 5.5 points in the latest Penn State vs. Texas odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 137. (See up-to-date odds for every game this week on our college basketball odds page.)

Before making any Penn State vs. Texas picks, or NCAA Tournament selections, you need to check out the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Div. I college basketball game 10,000 times. The model enters the 2023 NCAA Tournament 79-53 on all-top rated college basketball picks this season, returning nearly $1,300 for $100 players. Anybody who has followed the model has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows senior guard Marcus Carr, who has started all 35 games this season, is a big part of the Longhorns' success. He is averaging 15.9 points, 4.1 assists, three rebounds and 1.7 steals in 33.7 minutes of action. He is coming off back-to-back 17-point performances, and has reached double-digit scoring in 31 games this year. Carr registered a season-high 41 points in a 97-72 win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Dec. 27. He has also scored 20 or more points in eight games.

But the model also knows senior guard Jalen Pickett is one of three Nittany Lions averaging double-digit scoring. He has reached double-figure scoring in each of the last six games, and is coming off a monster effort in Thursday's first-round win over Texas A&M. In that game, he scored 19 points, dished out eight assists and grabbed seven rebounds. He has reached double-figure scoring in 33 games, including 13 with 20 or more points, two with 30 or more and one with over 40. For the season, Pickett is averaging 17.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists in 36 starts.

Now, the model has set its sights on Penn State vs. Texas. We can tell you the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in almost 60% of simulations! You ABSOLUTELY need to see the model before locking in any college basketball picks.

Who wins Penn State vs. Texas? And which side of the spread covers almost 60% of the time? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the Penn State vs. Texas spread you should be all over Saturday, all from the model on a roll on college basketball picks!