Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Prediction, 2/25/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Nebraska Cornhuskers

Date: Sunday, February 25, 2024

Location: Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, NE

TV: BTN

The Nebraska Cornhuskers (19-8) will play the Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-9) at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Sunday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers took the court against Ohio State and earned the victory with a final of 88-79 in their last game. Minnesota wrapped up the contest having earned a 50.0% field goal percentage (28 of 56) and knocked down 8 of 19 shots from downtown. From the charity stripe, the Golden Gophers converted 24 of 31 attempts for a rate of 77.4%. With respect to grabbing rebounds, they compiled a total of 28 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 17 dimes in this matchup while forcing the opposition into 9 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Regarding defense, Minnesota allowed 50.9% from the floor on 29 out of 57 shooting. Ohio State earned 12 assists and had 5 steals in the game. Additionally, Ohio State pulled down 23 rebounds (7 offensive, 16 defensive), but didn't have a block. Ohio State shot 77.8% at the free throw line by burying 14 of their 18 tries. They made 7 out of their 23 tries from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up finishing with 17 while Ohio State had 23 personal fouls.

Elijah Hawkins is a guy who was a factor in the game. He finished shooting 60.0% from the floor and also distributed 7 assists. He was on the court for 39 mins and also grabbed 2 boards. He accounted for 24 points on 6 out of 10 shooting.

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Minnesota comes into this matchup with a record of 17-9 this year. They are turning it over 12.0 times per contest and as a basketball team they are committing 16.8 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Minnesota is grabbing 36.2 boards per game and has accounted for 479 assists so far this year, which ranks 9th in the nation in terms of passing the ball. The Golden Gophers are shooting 35.9% on 3-pointers (211 of 588) and 68.8% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 76.7 points per outing (91st in the country) while hitting 47.6% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Gophers are able to force 11.2 turnovers per game and they draw 17.3 personal fouls. They are giving up 33.8% on 3-point attempts and they are 116th in the nation in PPG from their opponents (69.7). The Golden Gophers defensively are giving up an opponent FG percentage of 43.0% (662 of 1,538) and they surrender 33.2 boards per contest as a group. They currently rank 230th in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 359 relinquished on the season.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Nebraska Cornhuskers took home the win by a final score of 85-70 when they played Indiana. In the matter of team rebounding, Nebraska allowed Indiana to get 35 in all (9 on the offensive glass). They finished 19.0% from three-point range by going 4 of 21 and ended up shooting 14 of 24 at the free throw line (58.3%). The Cornhuskers allowed Indiana to bury 26 of 61 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6% in this game. When the final whistle blew, the Cornhuskers finished shooting 31 out of 63 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.2%. In reference to shots from 3-point land, Nebraska buried 14 out of 33 attempts (42.4%). They were able to make 9 of them for a percentage of 64.3%. Indiana earned 17 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Cornhuskers to the charity stripe for 14 attempts. They also coughed up the ball 7 times, while getting 5 steals for the contest. The Cornhuskers recorded 27 defensive boards and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 34 in the matchup.

Keisei Tominaga ended up being a factor for the Cornhuskers in this game. He knocked down 8 out of 15 in this matchup for a field goal percentage of 53.3%, and had 3 rebounds. He had 20 points in his 30 minutes on the court and accounted for 3 dimes in the game.

Nebraska has a record of 19-8 for the year. In terms of offensive execution, the Cornhuskers are shooting 45.2% from the floor, which ranks 153rd in the nation. Nebraska has accounted for 2,086 pts so far this year (77.3 per game) and they collect 37.9 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.5 times per game (51st in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.4 times per game. The Cornhuskers are responsible for committing 15.6 personal fouls per contest while shooting 75.7% from the charity stripe.

The Cornhuskers are ranked 126th in Division 1 in PPG given up with 70.0. They have forced 11.6 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 40.0% from the floor (17th in college basketball). The Nebraska defense surrenders 32.4% on shots from behind the 3-point line (230 of 710) and opponents are connecting on 67.7% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 13.3 assists and 37.0 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 223rd and 293rd in those defensive categories.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Minnesota

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