Michigan State Spartans vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 12/28/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Michigan State Spartans vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Monday, December 28, 2020

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Michigan State (+1)

Williams Arena is the site where and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-1) will take on the Michigan State Spartans (6-2) on Monday. Michigan State opens this matchup as 1-point underdogs. The over/under has been set at 160.5.

Michigan State will enter this matchup with a mark of 6-2 so far this year. They currently have an average of 81.3 points per contest (62nd in D-1) on 47.0% from the floor. The Spartans are hitting 36.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (71 of 193) and 76.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Michigan State is collecting 40.3 boards per game and has accounted for 180 dimes this season, which is 6th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are turning it over 14.1 times per game and as a unit are committing 18.8 fouls per contest. When they are on defense, the Spartans are able to force 10.6 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.3 fouls. They give up 36.0% on 3-point attempts and they are 263rd in D-1 in points per game allowed (74.8). The Spartans defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 42.4% (205 of 483) and they surrender 31.8 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 275th in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 114 relinquished for the campaign.

The Michigan State Spartans played the Wisconsin Badgers and took a loss by a score of 85-76 in their last game. Michigan State ended with a 47.4% field goal percentage (27 out of 57) and made 8 out of their 11 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Spartans made 14 of 16 attempts for a percentage of 87.5%. With regard to grabbing rebounds, they compiled 29 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 23 assists for the contest in addition to getting 2 steals and 2 blocks. Concerning defense, Michigan State allowed the other team to shoot 47.4% from the field on 27 out of 57 shooting. Wisconsin doled out 18 assists and had 7 steals for this contest. Furthurmore, the Badgers pulled down 27 boards (4 offensive, 23 defensive) and had 2 blocked shots. Wisconsin ended up going 76.7% from the charity stripe by knocking down 23 of 30 attempts. They also made 8 of their 19 tries from 3-point land.

Aaron Henry is a player who came through in this matchup. He walked away with 12 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 31 mins and pulled down 6 rebounds. Henry ended up shooting 38.5% from the field and also distributed 3 dimes. An additional guy that had an impact in this contest for the Spartans was Joey Hauser. He pulled down 7 boards and totaled 2 dimes. He shot 77.8% from the floor in this matchup by going 7-of-9 (27 points). When the final whistle was blown, Hauser played 28 min.

Minnesota has a mark of 8-1 on the season. Minnesota has tallied 762 points on the campaign (84.7 per game) and they grab 38.4 boards per contest. The Golden Gophers are responsible for committing 19.4 fouls per game and they hit 74.9% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Golden Gophers are shooting 42.8% from the field, which is 248th in D-1. They are assisting teammates 16.9 times per contest (52nd in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 11.4 times per contest. The Golden Gophers on defense are ranked 271st in the nation in PPG allowed with 75.9. The Minnesota defense surrenders 31.7% on shots from beyond the perimeter (60 of 189) and their opposition makes 71.0% of their shots from the free throw line. They concede 14.4 assists and 41.8 boards every game, which ranks 255th and 314th in the nation. They are forcing their opponents into 15.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.6% from the floor (152nd in D-1).

For their last game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers went home victorious with a score of 102-95 when they played the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Golden Gophers snagged 24 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive boards totaling 35 for the contest. They blocked 5 shots while earning 3 steals for the contest. The Hawkeyes were called for 22 fouls in the matchup which took the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for 29 tries. They were able to knock down 25 of the free throws for a percentage of 86.2%. When it comes to three-point shots, Minnesota knocked down 17 of 43 attempts (39.5%). Overall, the Golden Gophers finished 30 for 67 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.8%. The Golden Gophers allowed the Hawkeyes to make 29 of their 78 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 37.2% in the game. They finished 33.3% from 3-point land by shooting 10 of 30 and finished the game at 27 out of 38 from the free throw line (71.1%). When discussing rebounding, Minnesota permitted Iowa to collect 47 in total (21 on the offensive side).

Marcus Carr ended up having an impact for the Golden Gophers for the game. He made 9 of 16 for the contest giving him a rate of 56.3%, which got him 30 points. Carr pulled down 3 rebounds in his 43 mins played and tallied 8 dimes for the game. One more player that was pivotal for Minnesota was Liam Robbins. He ended up walking away with 18 points in his 30 minutes played by way of 5 of 10 from the floor in the matchup. Robbins wrapped this one up going 50.0% from the field in addition to contributing 2 assists and 5 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Michigan State (+1)

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