Northwestern Wildcats vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 2/3/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Saturday, February 3, 2024

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

The Northwestern Wildcats (15-6) are hitting the road to Williams Arena on Saturday where they will take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-7).

The Northwestern Wildcats faced off with Purdue and ended up losing by a score of 105-96 in their last contest. Northwestern ended having earned a 57.6% field goal percentage (38 out of 66) and converted 14 of their 27 3-point shots. From the free throw line, the Wildcats knocked down 6 of their 8 shots for a rate of 75.0%. In the matter of pulling down boards, they collected a total of 22 with 3 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 23 dimes for the contest as well as forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and getting 6 steals. With regard to defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to go 57.9% from the floor on 33 out of 57 shooting. Purdue doled out 23 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. In addition, Purdue had 33 rebounds (12 offensive, 21 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Purdue shot 63.0% at the free throw line by making 29 of 46 tries. They knocked down 10 of 21 attempts from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 30 and Purdue finished the game with 15 personal fouls.

Ty Berry is a player who was a contributor in the matchup. He finished the contest at 57.1% from the field and also distributed 3 assists. He saw the court for 38 minutes and totaled 5 boards. He accounted for 25 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

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Northwestern comes into this matchup with a record of 15-6 for the season. They turn it over 8.8 times per game and as a group they are committing 18.2 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Northwestern is pulling in 29.9 boards per contest and has accounted for 347 dimes this year, which ranks 32nd in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are connecting on 38.9% on shots beyond the perimeter (175 of 450) and 72.8% from the free throw line. They average 75.4 pts per game (154th in college basketball) while shooting 47.9% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Wildcats have forced 13.5 turnovers per contest and they draw 16.2 fouls. They are 228th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 281 surrendered for the year. The Wildcats defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.0% (493 of 1,096) and they relinquish 33.4 rebounds per game as a team. They give up 36.4% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 129th in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (69.9).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Minnesota Golden Gophers went home victorious with a score of 83-74 when they played Penn State. The Golden Gophers collected 24 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 31 in this game. They turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 3 steals in the game. Penn State committed 20 personal fouls for the contest which got the Golden Gophers to the charity stripe for a total of 26 attempts. They were able to convert 23 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 88.5%. In the matter of three-point attempts, Minnesota made 4 of their 14 attempts (28.6%). When the final whistle blew, the Golden Gophers went 28 out of 52 from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.8%. The Golden Gophers allowed Penn State to convert 28 out of 62 attempts from the floor which had them at 45.2% in this game. They shot 26.3% from beyond the arc by hitting 5 of 19 and ended up going 13 out of 18 from the free throw line (72.2%). When talking about rebounds, Minnesota permitted Penn State to get 21 in all (7 on the offensive side).

Cam Christie ended up being important for the Golden Gophers for the game. He converted 7 of 11 for the matchup for a field goal percentage of 63.6%, and added 8 rebounds. He racked up 19 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and accounted for 5 dimes for the game.

Minnesota has a mark of 13-7 for the campaign. The Golden Gophers are committing 16.4 personal fouls per contest and they hit 67.8% from the charity stripe. They are earning an assist 18.6 times per contest (8th in the country) and they lose possession via turnover 12.6 times per contest. Minnesota has scored 1,531 pts so far this season (76.6 per game) and they grab 37.3 boards per contest. On the offensive side of the ball, the Golden Gophers are hitting on 47.8% from the field, which ranks them 44th in the nation.

The Golden Gophers are ranked 95th in college hoops in PPG given up with 68.3. They are forcing 11.5 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 42.6% from the field (139th in college basketball). The Minnesota defense concedes 32.7% on shots from behind the 3-point line (110 of 336) and opponents are knocking down 72.7% of their free throw attempts. They have conceded 13.4 dimes and 32.9 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 224th and 81st in the country.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Minnesota

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