Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 2/17/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Thursday, February 17, 2022

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: BTN

Bryce Jordan Center is where the Penn State Nittany Lions (10-12) will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-11) on Thursday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers faced Ohio State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 70-45 in their last game. Minnesota ended the contest with a 30.8% field goal percentage (16 out of 52) and knocked down 5 out of their 19 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Golden Gophers converted 8 of 11 attempts for a rate of 72.7%. Concerning grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 27 with 5 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 6 dimes for the matchup while forcing 10 turnovers and having 8 steals. When talking about the defense, Minnesota allowed their opponent to shoot 49.1% from the field on 27 of 55 shooting. Ohio State recorded 11 dimes and had 3 steals for this game. Additionally, Ohio State grabbed 34 rebounds (5 offensive, 29 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Ohio State went 60.0% from the charity stripe by knocking down 6 of their 10 shots. They also made 10 out of their 23 attempts from downtown. In regard to personal fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up finishing with 12 and Ohio State accounted for 14 personal fouls.

Luke Loewe is one player who was a contributor for the matchup. He went 55.6% from the floor but had no assists at the end of the game. He played for 33 mins and snagged 3 rebounds. He notched 12 points on 5 out of 9 shooting.

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Minnesota enters this matchup with a record of 12-11 this season. They turn it over 9.6 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 13.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Minnesota is grabbing 31.3 rebounds per game and has accumulated 280 assists for the season, which has them ranked 283rd in the nation in terms of passing. The Golden Gophers are shooting 36.3% on shots from beyond the arc (171 of 471) and 72.2% from the free throw line. They have an average of 67.6 points per outing (273rd in the nation) while hitting 44.4% from the floor.

Defensively, the Golden Gophers have forced 10.5 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.2 fouls. They concede 32.2% on 3-point attempts and they are 170th in college basketball in opponents PPG (68.6). The Golden Gophers are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 44.8% (611 of 1,364) and they surrender 37.4 boards per contest as a unit. They are currently ranked 182nd in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 308 conceded so far this season.

In their last game, the Penn State Nittany Lions walked away with a victory by a final of 62-58 when they played Michigan State. The Nittany Lions were able to pull down 24 defensive boards and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 34 in this matchup. They also turned the ball over 8 times, while earning 7 steals for the game. Michigan State committed 15 personal fouls in this matchup which got the Nittany Lions to the charity stripe for 12 tries. They were able to make 8 of them for a clip of 66.7%. When it comes to 3-pointers, Penn State made 10 of 25 attempts (40.0%). When the game finished, the Nittany Lions shot 22 out of 56 from the field which had them shooting 39.3%. The Nittany Lions permitted Michigan State to knock down 23 of their 55 tries from the floor which had them at 41.8% for the matchup. They finished the game shooting 31.3% from distance by going 5 of 16 and ended up going 7 out of 10 from the charity stripe (70.0%). In regard to cleaning the glass, Penn State allowed Michigan State to collect 31 in total (7 on the offensive side).

John Harrar was important for the Nittany Lions in this game. He had 16 points in his 30 minutes on the court and had 3 dimes for this game. He knocked down 7 of 12 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and accumulated 16 rebounds.

Penn State has a win-loss record of 10-12 for the season. The Nittany Lions are committing 15.5 fouls per contest and they shoot 73.5% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 12.2 times per contest (242nd in the nation) and they are turning it over 12.3 times per contest. Penn State has tallied 1,433 pts this season (65.1 per contest) and they snag 35.9 rebounds per game. When it comes to offense, the Nittany Lions are hitting on 43.0% from the field, which ranks 248th in the country.

The Nittany Lions on defense are ranked 79th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 65.5. They are forcing 8.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.3% from the floor (82nd in D-1). The Penn State defense gives up 34.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (167 of 483) and opponents are knocking down 72.0% of their foul shots. They relinquish 13.2 assists and 32.3 boards every game, which is ranked 228th and 68th in college basketball.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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