Ball State Cardinals vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 12/21/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Ball State Cardinals vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Thursday, December 21, 2023

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: ESPN+

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-3) will try to defeat the Ball State Cardinals (8-3) at Williams Arena on Thursday.

The Ball State Cardinals stepped onto the hardwood against Indiana State and took a loss by a score of 83-72 in their last game. Ball State wrapped up the game with a 43.3% field goal percentage (26 out of 60) and buried 11 of their 24 three-point attempts. From the free throw line, the Cardinals buried 9 of 12 shots for a percentage of 75.0%. In the matter of rebounding, they earned 29 with 7 of them being of the offensive variety. They also recorded 14 assists for the matchup while forcing the other team into 10 turnovers and getting 8 steals. When discussing the defense, Ball State allowed their opponent to shoot 51.9% from the field on 28 out of 54 shooting. Indiana State recorded 17 assists and had 7 steals for the matchup. Moreover, Indiana State snagged 30 rebounds (4 offensive, 26 defensive), but wrapped up the game with no rejections. Indiana State shot 78.3% from the charity stripe by burying 18 of 23 attempts. They converted 9 out of their 24 shots from distance. When it comes to personal fouls, the Cardinals ended up walking away with 15 while Indiana State accumulated 17 personal fouls.

Jalin Anderson is one guy who was a major factor in the game. He walked away with 18 points on 7 of 16 shooting. He saw the court for 38 minutes played and pulled down 8 rebounds. He ended up shooting 43.8% from the floor and recorded 6 assists.

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Ball State comes into this matchup with a mark of 8-3 so far this year. They have an average of 76.1 points per contest (157th in Division 1) while going 46.4% from the field. The Cardinals are connecting on 37.8% on shots beyond the perimeter (84 of 222) and 73.6% from the free throw line. As a unit, Ball State is grabbing 36.1 boards per game and has earned 136 dimes for the year, which has them ranked 249th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They turn it over 12.3 times per contest and as a basketball team they commit 13.5 fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Cardinals are forcing 13.3 turnovers every game while drawing 19.6 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 139th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 130 conceded on the year. The Cardinals defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.4% (275 of 620) and they relinquish 30.5 rebounds per contest as a unit. They relinquish 32.4% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 79th in college hoops in opponents points per game (66.5).

The last time they took the court, the Minnesota Golden Gophers took home the win by a final score of 101-65 when they faced IUPUI. The Golden Gophers earned 30 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 37 for the contest. They also turned it over 9 times, while earning 7 steals in the game. IUPUI had 9 personal fouls in this contest which took the Golden Gophers to the charity stripe for 5 shots. They were able to knock down 3 of the free throws for a clip of 60.0%. In the matter of shooting from beyond the arc, Minnesota converted 14 out of 28 attempts (50.0%). At the conclusion of this game, the Golden Gophers walked away from this one shooting 42 for 67 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 62.7%. The Golden Gophers permitted IUPUI to knock down 27 of their 64 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 42.2% in this contest. They shot 23.1% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 3 of 13 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 14 at the free throw line (57.1%). In reference to attacking the glass, Minnesota allowed IUPUI to get 21 in total (5 offensive).

Cam Christie ended up being a factor for the Golden Gophers in this game. He made 7 out of 12 for the contest giving him a field goal percentage of 58.3%, and had 6 rebounds. He racked up 19 points in his 33 mins on the court and earned 3 dimes in this game.

Minnesota has a win-loss mark of 8-3 for the year. When it comes to offensive execution, the Golden Gophers are connecting on 49.2% from the field, which has them ranked 29th in the nation. Minnesota has 886 pts on the year (80.5 per game) and they collect 39.1 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 19.7 times per contest (7th in Division 1) and they are turning it over 13.5 times per game. The Golden Gophers commit 15.5 fouls per game and they hit 72.3% from the free throw line.

The Minnesota defense surrenders 33.2% on shots from distance (63 of 190) and their opponents are knocking down 72.8% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 12.1 assists and 31.5 rebounds per contest, which ranks them 135th and 44th in D-1. The Golden Gophers defensively are ranked 89th in college basketball in PPG given up with 67.0. They are forcing 11.9 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.1% from the field (100th in D-1).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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