Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, 1/18/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Michigan State Spartans

Date: Thursday, January 18, 2024

Location: Breslin Center in East Lansing, MI

TV: FS1

The Michigan State Spartans (10-7) will try to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-5) at Breslin Center on Thursday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers played Iowa and ended up losing by a score of 86-77 in their last contest. Minnesota ended the contest with a 48.3% FG percentage (28 of 58) and knocked down 5 of their 29 shots from 3-point land. When they shot from the free throw line, the Golden Gophers converted 16 of 24 tries for a percentage of 66.7%. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they collected a total of 27 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also distributed 20 assists for the matchup while creating 10 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In the matter of the defense, Minnesota let their opponent shoot 53.8% from the floor on 35 of 65 shooting. Iowa dished out 23 dimes and had 9 steals for this game. Additionally, Iowa pulled down 35 boards (8 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Iowa finished the game shooting 81.3% from the free throw line by burying 13 of 16 attempts. They also made 3 out of their 13 attempts from beyond the arc. In reference to personal fouls, the Golden Gophers left the arena with 16 and Iowa accumulated 19 personal fouls.

Dawson Garcia is a guy who came through for the matchup. He finished shooting 52.9% from the floor and also totaled 2 dimes. He was on the hardwood for 35 mins and totaled 4 boards. He ended up scoring 30 points on 9 of 17 shooting.

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Minnesota will enter this game with a mark of 12-5 so far this season. They turn the ball over 12.4 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 16.1 fouls per game. As a team, Minnesota is collecting 37.6 rebounds per game and is sitting with 326 assists so far this year, which is 7th in Division 1 in terms of passing the rock. The Golden Gophers are shooting 33.7% on shots from downtown (134 of 398) and 67.6% from the charity stripe. They currently have an average of 77.8 points per game (99th in D-1) while connecting on 48.2% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Golden Gophers are able to force 12.1 turnovers per game and they draw 17.5 fouls. They are giving up 33.0% on 3-point shots and they are 98th in college hoops in opponents points per game (67.9). The Golden Gophers are allowing a FG percentage of 42.3% (428 of 1,012) and they surrender 32.9 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 200th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 219 surrendered on the year.

For their last game, the Michigan State Spartans went home victorious with a score of 73-55 against Rutgers. In the matter of how they attacked the glass, Michigan State allowed Rutgers to get 28 overall (5 on the offensive glass). They went 38.9% from three-point range by going 7 out of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 8 out of 13 from the free throw line (61.5%). The Spartans allowed Rutgers to make 20 of their 54 attempts from the floor which had them shooting 37.0% for the matchup. When the final whistle blew, the Spartans walked away from this one shooting 25 out of 55 from the field which had them at 45.5%. With respect to 3-point attempts, Michigan State converted 12 of their 25 attempts (48.0%). They were able to bury 11 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 73.3%. Rutgers was called for 17 personal fouls in this game which got the Spartans to the free throw line for 15 shots. They coughed up the ball 8 times, while earning 4 steals for the game. The Spartans were able to pull down 28 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in this matchup.

Malik Hall was important for the Spartans for this game. He racked up 15 points in his 28 minutes on the hardwood and had 2 assists for this game. He made 6 out of 9 for the game for a rate of 66.7%, and had 6 rebounds.

Michigan State has a mark of 10-7 this year. The Spartans are responsible for committing 16.4 fouls every game while shooting 70.1% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 18.1 times per contest (16th in D-1) and they turn the ball over 10.8 times per contest. Michigan State has totaled 1,311 points on the campaign (77.1 per contest) and they grab 37.0 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Spartans are connecting on 47.8% from the field, which ranks them 45th in the nation.

The Michigan State defense concedes 30.3% on three-point shots (126 of 416) and their opponents are knocking down 73.2% of their free throw shots. They relinquish 12.7 dimes and 33.9 total boards per game, which ranks them 173rd and 132nd in D-1. The Spartans are ranked 47th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 65.5. They have forced 12.4 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 39.0% from the field (18th in the nation).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Michigan State

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