Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 1/19/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Wednesday, January 19, 2022

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: BTN

Bryce Jordan Center is the location where the Penn State Nittany Lions (8-7) will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-5) on Wednesday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers took the court against Iowa and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 81-71 in their last game. With respect to personal fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up with 18 while Iowa accounted for 14 personal fouls. They made 5 of 22 attempts from downtown. Iowa ended up going 62.5% at the charity stripe by making 10 of 16 attempts. Additionally, Iowa totaled 36 rebounds (13 offensive, 23 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Iowa earned 18 assists and had 10 steals for the contest. With respect to the defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to shoot 48.5% from the floor on 33 out of 68 shooting. They also distributed 12 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 8 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When it comes to rebounding, they collected 25 with 4 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Golden Gophers made 9 of their 14 tries for a rate of 64.3%. Minnesota ended with a 51.9% field goal percentage (28 of 54) and buried 6 out of their 15 3-pointers.

E.J. Stephens is one player who was a major factor for the game. He ended up walking away with 24 points on 9 out of 15 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 40 minutes and snagged 2 boards. He finished the game shooting 60.0% from the floor and also totaled 1 assist.

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Minnesota will enter this contest with a win-loss record of 10-5 on the year. They average 69.7 points per outing (238th in the nation) while hitting 45.4% from the field. The Golden Gophers are shooting 34.2% on shots from downtown (104 of 304) and 70.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Minnesota is collecting 32.7 boards per game and has accounted for 184 dimes for the year, which is 287th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 9.5 times per contest and as a team they commit 14.1 personal fouls every game.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Gophers have forced 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.9 personal fouls. They give up 27.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 115th in college basketball in points per game allowed (66.3). The Golden Gophers defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 43.0% (384 of 893) and they relinquish 38.2 rebounds per game as a group. They are ranked 143rd in college hoops in allowing assists to their opponents with 191 surrendered for the season.

The last time they took the hardwood, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a score of 61-56 when they played Ohio State. With respect to rebounding, Penn State allowed Ohio State to grab 34 in all (8 on the offensive glass). They went 25.0% from beyond the arc by going 3 of 12 and ended up going 24 of 36 at the charity stripe (66.7%). The Nittany Lions allowed Ohio State to convert 17 out of their 44 tries from the field which left them shooting 38.6% in this matchup. When all was said and done, the Nittany Lions finished the game shooting 21 out of 53 from the field which gave them a rate of 39.6%. In relation to shooting from downtown, Penn State converted 6 of 22 tries (27.3%). They were able to bury 8 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 57.1%. Ohio State earned 13 fouls in this contest which took the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for a total of 14 attempts. They coughed up the ball 7 times, while recording 5 steals in the matchup. The Nittany Lions were able to pull down 22 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards for a total of 27 in the matchup.

Jalen Pickett pitched in for the Nittany Lions in the matchup. He recorded 11 points in his 40 mins on the hardwood and accounted for 5 assists in the matchup. He knocked down 4 of 11 in the game giving him a rate of 36.4%, and accumulated 3 rebounds.

Penn State has a win-loss mark of 8-7 on the season. The Nittany Lions are responsible for committing 15.1 personal fouls every game while shooting 72.8% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 12.7 times per game (225th in Division 1) and they lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per contest. Penn State has scored 997 points for the year (66.5 per contest) and they average 35.3 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Nittany Lions are connecting on 44.7% from the field, which has them ranked 159th in the country.

The Penn State defense gives up 33.6% on 3-point attempts (112 of 333) and their opponents are converting on 68.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 12.5 dimes and 31.3 boards per contest, which has them ranked 175th and 43rd in those categories on the defensive end. The Nittany Lions defensively are ranked 77th in the country in PPG surrendered with 64.7. They are forcing their opponents into 9.3 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 41.6% from the floor (122nd in college basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Penn State

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