Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Michigan State Spartans Prediction, 3/14/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Michigan State Spartans

Date: Thursday, March 14, 2024

Location: Target Center in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

Target Center is where the Michigan State Spartans (18-13) will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (18-13) on Thursday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers took the court against Northwestern and took a loss by a final of 90-66 in their last game. Minnesota wrapped up the game having earned a 49.1% FG percentage (26 of 53) and made 7 out of their 16 three-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Golden Gophers knocked down 7 of their 9 tries for a rate of 77.8%. Concerning pulling down boards, they earned 25 with 4 of them being of the offensive variety. They also dished out 17 assists in this game while forcing the other team into 1 turnovers and earning 1 steal. With regard to defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to shoot 58.6% from the field on 34 out of 58 shooting. Northwestern totaled 23 dimes and had 6 steals for the game. In addition, Northwestern grabbed 24 rebounds (3 offensive, 21 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Northwestern finished 80.0% from the free throw line by knocking down 12 of 15 attempts. They also converted 10 of their 18 attempts from distance. Regarding personal fouls, the Golden Gophers finished with 13 while Northwestern totaled 9 personal fouls.

Dawson Garcia is a player who was a major factor in this contest. He left the arena with 30 points on 13 out of 19 shooting. He played 36 minutes and also collected 9 rebounds. He finished the contest at 68.4% from the field and also recorded 1 assist.

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Minnesota will take the court with a mark of 18-13 this season. They are losing possession via turnover 12.0 times per game and as a group they commit 16.3 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Minnesota is pulling in 35.4 boards per game and has 543 assists so far this year, which ranks 13th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Golden Gophers are hitting 35.8% on three-point attempts (248 of 693) and 69.6% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 75.7 pts per contest (119th in college hoops) while going 47.2% from the field.

Defensively, the Golden Gophers are able to force 10.9 turnovers per contest and they draw 17.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 307th in D-1 in allowing assists to their opponents with 456 conceded on the campaign. The Golden Gophers are giving up a FG percentage of 44.4% (813 of 1,830) and they surrender 33.0 rebounds per contest as a team. They are giving up 35.9% on three-point shots and they rank 167th in D-1 in points per game from their opponents (71.6).

For their last game, the Michigan State Spartans went home defeated by a final of 65-64 when they played Indiana. The Spartans were able to snag 21 defensive boards and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 29 in this contest. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while earning 12 steals for the contest. Indiana committed 11 fouls in this game which got the Spartans to the charity stripe for a total of 7 attempts. They were able to knock down 6 of the free throw tries for a clip of 85.7%. When talking about three-point attempts, Michigan State made 8 of 25 attempts (32.0%). When the final whistle blew, the Spartans ended up going 25 out of 65 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 38.5%. The Spartans allowed Indiana to knock down 27 out of 57 tries from the floor which had them shooting 47.4% in the matchup. They went 35.3% from distance by connecting on 6 of 17 and finished the contest at 5 of 12 at the free throw line (41.7%). With respect to how they attacked the glass, Michigan State allowed Indiana to get 34 in all (10 on the offensive side).

Tyson Walker ended up having an impact for the Spartans in this contest. He racked up 30 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and accounted for 3 assists for the contest. He converted 11 out of 21 in this contest for a rate of 52.4%, and added 2 rebounds.

Michigan State has a mark of 18-13 for the campaign. When it comes to offense, the Spartans are shooting 46.0% from the field, which ranks 101st in college hoops. Michigan State has tallied 2,274 points for the campaign (73.4 per game) and they grab 34.7 boards per game. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 16.3 times per contest (27th in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 9.7 times per contest. The Spartans have committed 16.2 personal fouls every game and they hit 70.5% from the free throw line.

The Spartans on the defensive side of the court are 26th in college hoops in PPG given up with 65.9. They are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 41.0% from the floor (39th in D-1). The Michigan State defense allows 32.6% on 3-pointers (234 of 717) and opponents are making 72.1% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 12.3 dimes and 34.1 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 127th and 144th in college hoops.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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