Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Wisconsin Badgers Prediction, 12/31/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Wisconsin Badgers

Date: Thursday, December 31, 2020

Location: Kohl Center in Madison, WI

TV: BTN

Odds/Point Spread: Minnesota (+7.5)

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-1) head to Kohl Center on Thursday where they'll meet the Wisconsin Badgers (8-2). Minnesota opens this contest as 7.5-point underdogs. The total is set at 144.

Minnesota enters this one with a record of 9-1 for the season. They are averaging 84.3 points per game (31st in D-1) while connecting on 43.3% from the field. The Golden Gophers are connecting on 31.1% on shots from 3-point land (78 of 251) and 75.7% from the free throw line. As a team, Minnesota is pulling down 39.8 rebounds per game and has accumulated 170 dimes on the year, which is 15th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They lose possession via turnover 11.7 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 18.8 fouls every game. Defensively, the Golden Gophers are able to force 14.4 turnovers per contest while drawing 24.4 fouls. The Golden Gophers defensively are allowing a field goal percentage of 39.9% (261 of 654) and they relinquish 41.2 boards per game as a basketball team. They currently rank 314th in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 140 relinquished so far this year. They are relinquishing 30.8% on 3-point attempts and they rank 248th in college hoops in PPG allowed (73.9).

The Minnesota Golden Gophers played the Michigan State Spartans and walked away with a win by a score of 81-56 in their last contest. Minnesota ended the contest with a 47.6% field goal percentage (30 out of 63) and made 6 out of their 25 three-point shots. From the free throw line, the Golden Gophers buried 15 of 17 attempts for a percentage of 88.2%. With regard to getting rebounds, they compiled 49 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 18 assists in this game in addition to having 5 steals and 4 rejections. With respect to defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to shoot 47.6% from the floor on 30 of 63 shooting. Michigan State earned 10 dimes and had 4 steals in this game. Additionally, the Spartans collected 34 boards (11 offensive, 23 defensive) and got 4 blocks. Michigan State walked away from this one shooting 77.8% at the charity stripe by burying 14 of their 18 attempts. They also buried 6 of 25 attempts from distance.

Marcus Carr is a guy who came through for the contest. He accounted for 19 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He saw the court for 33 minutes and also pulled down 4 rebounds. Carr finished the contest at 53.8% from the floor and also dished out 5 assists. An additional guy that was a major contributor in this matchup for the Golden Gophers was Liam Robbins. He had 9 rebounds and also totaled 2 dimes. He finished the game shooting 63.6% from the floor for the contest by hitting 7-of-11 (18 points). Overall, Robbins was on the hardwood for 25 min.

Wisconsin has a win-loss mark of 8-2 for the season. Wisconsin has totaled 767 pts so far this season (76.7 per contest) and they grab 34.6 rebounds per game. The Badgers are committing 16.7 fouls every game and they go 75.4% from the charity stripe. When it comes to executing on offense, the Badgers are hitting on 46.2% from the field, which ranks them 130th in the nation. They are assisting teammates 14.8 times per contest (110th in the nation) and they are turning it over 8.2 times per game. The Badgers defensively are ranked 25th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 60.6. They are forcing 12.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 38.7% from the floor (46th in D-1). The Wisconsin defense allows 34.3% on shots from distance (59 of 172) and their opponents are making 72.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They surrender 10.3 assists and 32.0 rebounds every game, which has them ranked 44th and 68th in the nation.

When they last stepped on the court, the Wisconsin Badgers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 70-64 when they faced the Maryland Terrapins. The Badgers recorded 21 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards for a total of 28 in this game. They also blocked 2 attempts while recording 3 steals in the game. The Terrapins were called for 17 fouls for this game which took the Badgers to the free throw line for a total of 15 shots. They were able to make 8 of those for a clip of 53.3%. In reference to shots from beyond the arc, Wisconsin converted 8 of their 21 tries (38.1%). When the game finished, the Badgers finished shooting 24 for 55 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 43.6%. The Badgers allowed the Terrapins to make 26 out of their 52 attempts from the field which gave them a rate of 50.0% for the game. They finished 35.3% from beyond the arc by shooting 6 of 17 and ended up shooting 12 out of 15 from the free throw line (80.0%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Wisconsin allowed Maryland to get 31 overall (4 on the offensive glass).

D'Mitrik Trice pitched in for the Badgers in the matchup. He knocked down 8 of 14 in this game for a rate of 57.1%, which gave him 25 points. Trice grabbed 4 rebounds in his 34 mins and totaled 3 assists for the matchup. An additional guy that was important for Wisconsin was Aleem Ford. He notched 10 points in 32 minutes on the court by going 4 of 8 from the floor for the matchup. Ford ended the game having shot 50.0% from the field while also earning 2 dimes and 6 total rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Wisconsin (-7.5) and under 144 points

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