Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 11/12/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Friday, November 12, 2021

Location: Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, NC

TV: ESPNU

Harrah's Cherokee Center is the site where the Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-15 last season) will go up against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (21-8 last year) on Friday.

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers faced the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs and ended up losing by a score of 72-65 in their last game. In the matter of personal fouls, the Hilltoppers left the arena with 14 while the Bulldogs finished the game with 14 personal fouls. They made 11 of 18 attempts from distance. Louisiana Tech finished the contest at 69.2% at the charity stripe by converting 9 of 13 shots. On top of that, Louisiana Tech snagged 35 boards (7 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. Louisiana Tech totaled 16 dimes and had 5 steals for the contest. With respect to the defense, Western Kentucky allowed their opponent to shoot 47.3% from the field on 26 out of 55 shooting. They also dished out 19 assists for the game as well as forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and having 3 steals. With respect to pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 37 with 13 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Hilltoppers knocked down 10 of their 13 attempts for a percentage of 76.9%. Western Kentucky walked away from the contest with a 34.8% field goal percentage (23 of 66) and made 9 of their 30 shots from distance.

Jordan Rawls is one guy who came through for the matchup. He recorded 20 points on 7 out of 12 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 mins and also snagged 5 rebounds. He finished shooting 58.3% from the floor and earned 8 assists.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Expert Picks

Western Kentucky heads into this game after finishing with a win-loss record of 21-8 last year. They averaged 72.7 pts per contest (130th in D-1) on 44.9% from the floor. The Hilltoppers hit on 34.5% from downtown (185 of 536) and 78.8% from the charity stripe. As a team, Western Kentucky pulled down 37.7 rebounds per game and had 395 assists over the course of last season, which was 56th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They lost possession via turnover 14.2 times per contest and as a group committed 14.1 fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Hilltoppers forced their opponents into 13.1 turnovers per game and they drew 17.6 fouls. They conceded 36.4% on 3-point attempts and they were 109th in college hoops in opponents points per game (68.0). The Hilltoppers allowed an opponent FG percentage of 42.2% (722 of 1,710) and they conceded 31.2 boards per game as a squad. They were 272nd in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 360 relinquished last season.

When they last played, the Minnesota Golden Gophers went home defeated by a final of 79-75 against the Ohio State Buckeyes. Regarding rebounding, Minnesota allowed Ohio State to snag 34 overall (6 on the offensive side). They shot 33.3% from distance by connecting on 4 of 12 and finished the contest at 19 of 28 at the free throw line (67.9%). The Golden Gophers permitted the Buckeyes to convert 28 of their 56 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 50.0% for the matchup. At the conclusion of this game, the Golden Gophers shot 28 for 77 from the field which gave them a percentage of 36.4%. When it comes to shooting from 3-point land, Minnesota buried 8 of 32 attempts (25.0%). They were able to make 11 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 64.7%. The Buckeyes were called for 17 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for a total of 17 tries. They also coughed up the ball 11 times, while recording 7 steals in this matchup. The Golden Gophers recorded 26 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive boards totaling 38 in this contest.

Marcus Carr ended up being a factor for the Golden Gophers in this matchup. He scored 24 points in his 38 minutes on the hardwood and earned 4 assists in this matchup. He made 7 out of 24 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 29.2%, and had 4 rebounds.

Minnesota had a mark of 14-15 last year. On the offensive side of the court, the Golden Gophers hit 39.2% from the field, which was ranked 345th in the nation. Minnesota earned 2,103 pts last season (72.5 per contest) and they collected 36.8 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists was at 13.8 times per game (127th in the country) and they lost possession via turnover 11.2 times per contest. The Golden Gophers were responsible for committing 18.6 fouls every game and they shot 74.1% from the free throw line.

The Golden Gophers were ranked 257th in college basketball in points given up per game with 73.2. They were able to force 13.6 TO's per game and allowed teams to shoot 44.1% from the field (212th in D-1). The Minnesota defense allowed 35.2% on shots from behind the 3-point line (192 of 546) and opponents made 69.5% of their free throw attempts. They conceded 14.9 assists and 39.9 boards per game, ranking them 299th and 340th in D-1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Western Kentucky

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here