Saint Louis Billikens vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 12/20/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Saint Louis Billikens vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Sunday, December 20, 2020

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: FS1

Odds/Point Spread: Saint Louis (-3.5)

Williams Arena is the site where and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-1) will take on the Saint Louis Billikens (6-0) on Sunday. Minnesota opens this game as 3.5-point dogs. The O/U is set at 147.

Saint Louis will take the court with a win-loss record of 6-0 this year. The Billikens are shooting 44.6% on 3-pointers (50 of 112) and 74.8% from the free throw line. They average 87.8 pts per contest (22nd in Division 1) while going 52.7% from the floor. They are turning it over 13.0 times per contest and as a group they commit 17.3 personal fouls every game. As a team, Saint Louis is grabbing 38.5 rebounds per game and is sitting with 122 assists this year, which is 26th in the country in terms of passing. On defense, the Billikens are able to force 17.2 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.3 personal fouls. The Billikens defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 40.3% (129 of 320) and they concede 27.0 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They currently rank 125th in college basketball in giving up assists with 60 relinquished for the season. They relinquish 31.9% from beyond the arc and they are 66th in the country in PPG allowed (63.3).

The Saint Louis Billikens played the NC State Wolfpack and walked away with a win by a score of 80-69 in their last contest. Saint Louis finished with a 44.8% FG percentage (26 out of 58) and made 5 of 12 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Billikens converted 23 of their 31 attempts for a rate of 74.2%. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they earned 50 with 13 of them being on the offensive end. They also dished out 16 dimes in the matchup while getting 4 steals and 3 blocked shots. In relation to defense, Saint Louis allowed their opponent to shoot 44.8% from the floor on 26 of 58. North Carolina State dished out 11 dimes and 12 steals for this game. Moreover, the Wolfpack snagged 23 rebounds (5 offensive, 18 defensive) and added 3 blocks. North Carolina State ended up shooting 71.4% at the free throw line by converting 15 of 21 attempts. They also made 4 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc.

Yuri Collins is one player who played a lot for the contest. He ended up scoring 17 points on 6 out of 11 shooting. He saw the court for 38 mins and pulled down 4 rebounds. Collins finished the game shooting 54.5% from the floor and also totaled 5 assists. One more player that was a major factor in this contest for the Billikens was Jordan Goodwin. He collected 15 rebounds and also totaled 5 dimes. He finished the contest at 45.5% from the floor in this matchup by shooting 5-of-11 (16 points). When all was said and done, Goodwin was on the hardwood for 36 min.

Minnesota has a win-loss mark of 6-1 so far this season. Minnesota has earned 570 pts this year (81.4 per game) and they average 39.1 boards per game. The Golden Gophers have committed 18.9 fouls per game and they connect on 71.8% from the free throw line. As an offense, the Golden Gophers are shooting 42.0% from the floor, which has them ranked 274th in Division 1. They are dishing out assists 16.3 times per contest (62nd in the nation) and they cough up possession 10.7 times per game. The Golden Gophers on defense are ranked 216th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 72.3. They have surrendered 13.6 assists and 40.0 boards on a nightly basis, which is ranked 209th and 288th in the nation. The Minnesota defense surrenders 33.3% on three-point shots (48 of 144) and their opponents are making 71.0% of their free throw shots. They are forcing 16.9 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 42.0% from the field (160th in the country).

The last time they took the court, the Minnesota Golden Gophers took a loss by a final score of 92-65 when they played the Illinois Fighting Illini. The Golden Gophers earned 22 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 32 in the matchup. They stuffed 6 shots while getting 7 steals for the contest. The Fighting Illini earned 27 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Golden Gophers to the charity stripe for a total of 32 tries. They were able to bury 20 of those for a rate of 62.5%. In terms of shots from downtown, Minnesota made 7 of 28 tries (25.0%). Overall, the Golden Gophers walked away from this one shooting 19 for 69 from the field which gave them a percentage of 27.5%. The Golden Gophers permitted the Fighting Illini to convert 34 of 64 tries from the floor which had them sitting at 53.1% in this game. They went 36.8% from three-point range by hitting 7 out of 19 and ended up going 17 of 25 at the free throw line (68.0%). In the matter of team rebounding, Minnesota allowed Illinois to grab 49 in total (7 on the offensive glass).

Marcus Carr was important for the Golden Gophers in this game. He made 3 of 13 in the game for a field goal rate of 23.1%, which got him 16 points. Carr snagged 6 boards in his 33 mins played and had 4 dimes for this game. Another guy who was a determining factor for Minnesota was Liam Robbins. He ended up walking away with 10 points in his 16 minutes played by way of 4 out of 8 from the floor for this game. Robbins ended the game having shot 50.0% from the field while also collecting 2 dimes and 2 rebounds.

So what is Tonights Parlay prediction?

Parlay's Pundit's Pick: Take Minnesota (+3.5) and over 147 points

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