Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs Prediction, 12/5/2021 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Mississippi State Bulldogs

Date: Sunday, December 5, 2021

Location: Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, MS

TV: ESPN+

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-0) are headed to Humphrey Coliseum on Sunday where they will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-1).

The Minnesota Golden Gophers faced off with Pittsburgh and walked away with a win by a score of 54-53 in their last game. Minnesota walked away from the contest with a 37.3% field goal percentage (22 of 59) and buried 7 of their 19 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Golden Gophers made 3 of their 5 tries for a percentage of 60.0%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they earned 29 with 6 of them being offensive. They also dished out 11 dimes for the contest as well as forcing 11 turnovers and earning 2 steals. Regarding the defense, Minnesota let their opponent shoot 38.5% from the field on 20 out of 52 shooting. Pittsburgh distributed 13 assists and had 4 steals for this game. Moreover, Pittsburgh grabbed 38 rebounds (10 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Pittsburgh ended up going 66.7% at the free throw line by making 10 of their 15 tries. They also converted 3 out of their 15 tries from 3-point land. In the matter of fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up with 16 and Pittsburgh accounted for 11 fouls.

Payton Willis is someone who was a major contributor for this contest. He shot 46.2% from the floor and distributed 3 assists. He played 37 mins and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He ended up scoring 15 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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Minnesota will enter this contest with a record of 6-0 for the year. They cough up possession 10.7 times per game and as a group they commit 13.3 fouls every game. As a unit, Minnesota is snagging 35.7 rebounds per game and has accounted for 72 dimes so far this year, which ranks 320th in college hoops in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Gophers are hitting 35.0% on 3-point shots (43 of 123) and 67.7% from the free throw line. They currently have an average of 69.7 pts per contest (227th in the nation) while hitting 45.1% from the field.

Defensively, the Golden Gophers are able to force 13.3 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.8 personal fouls. They rank 16th in college basketball in allowing assists to their opponents with 58 surrendered on the year. The Golden Gophers defense is allowing an opponent FG percentage of 38.5% (139 of 361) and they surrender 39.0 rebounds per game as a squad. They are giving up 21.2% on 3-pointers and they are 30th in D-1 in points per game allowed (58.5).

In their last game, the Mississippi State Bulldogs took home the win by a final score of 75-60 against Lamar. The Bulldogs snagged 26 defensive boards and 13 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 for the contest. They coughed it up 11 times, while recording 6 steals in this game. Lamar had 21 personal fouls in this contest which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for a total of 27 attempts. They were able to convert 18 of the free throws for a percentage of 66.7%. When discussing shooting from 3-point land, Mississippi State knocked down 7 out of their 18 attempts (38.9%). When the final whistle was blown, the Bulldogs finished 25 out of 54 from the field which had them shooting 46.3%. The Bulldogs permitted Lamar to make 24 of 55 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 43.6% in the matchup. They wrapped up this game 31.6% from 3-point land by going 6 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 6 out of 11 from the free throw line (54.5%). Regarding rebounds, Mississippi State permitted Lamar to collect 24 in total (5 offensive).

Tolu Smith ended up being important for the Bulldogs in the matchup. He recorded 14 points in his 25 minutes on the hardwood and had 1 assist for the matchup. He knocked down 5 out of 8 in this matchup for a rate of 62.5%, and had 11 rebounds.

Mississippi State has a win-loss record of 6-1 for the year. The Bulldogs are committing 13.7 fouls per game and they go 68.7% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 14.0 times per game (149th in the country) and they are turning it over 12.7 times per contest. Mississippi State has earned 519 pts on the season (74.1 per contest) and they grab 40.9 boards per game. As an offensive unit, the Bulldogs are shooting 48.5% from the field, which is ranked 40th in college basketball.

The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 32nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 58.7. They have forced 12.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 37.9% from the field (34th in college basketball). The Mississippi State defense allows 30.4% on shots from beyond the arc (55 of 181) and their opponents are connecting on 67.5% of their free throw shots. They surrender 10.9 dimes and 28.4 total boards per game, which is 96th and 10th in college basketball.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Mississippi State

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