Penn State Nittany Lions vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 3/2/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Saturday, March 2, 2024

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

Williams Arena is where the Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-11) will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (14-15) on Saturday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions faced off with Iowa and took a loss by a final of 90-81 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Nittany Lions ended up walking away with 23 while Iowa recorded 20 personal fouls. They also made 8 of 16 shots from three-point range. Iowa finished the game shooting 86.5% from the charity stripe by converting 32 of 37 attempts. Furthermore, Iowa had 31 rebounds (4 offensive, 27 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Iowa earned 22 assists and had 6 steals for the contest. Pertaining to the defense, Penn State allowed the other team to go 47.2% from the floor on 25 of 53 shooting. They also recorded 14 assists in the matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and earning 8 steals. Regarding rebounding, they earned 37 with 11 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Nittany Lions converted 13 of 23 shots for a percentage of 56.5%. Penn State ended the contest having earned a 45.1% FG percentage (32 of 71) and converted 4 out of their 17 shots from beyond the arc.

Qudus Wahab is someone who was a major factor in the matchup. He ended up shooting 72.7% from the field but wasn't able to get an assist. He was on the hardwood for 28 minutes and collected 7 rebounds. He notched 18 points on 8 out of 11 shooting.

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Penn State steps onto the court with a record of 14-15 so far this season. They are turning it over 11.0 times per game and as a team are committing 18.1 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, Penn State is pulling down 31.6 rebounds per game and has earned 360 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 220th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Nittany Lions are shooting 33.1% on shots from beyond the arc (224 of 677) and 73.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging 75.8 points per contest (118th in college hoops) while shooting 44.3% from the floor.

On defense, the Nittany Lions are able to force 15.0 turnovers per game while drawing 17.4 fouls. They are currently ranked 328th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 430 surrendered this season. The Nittany Lions defense is allowing and opponent field goal percentage of 46.0% (767 of 1,666) and they surrender 37.2 boards per game as a squad. They are conceding 31.1% on shots from beyond the perimeter while they are 264th in college hoops in points per game allowed (74.5).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Minnesota Golden Gophers took a loss by a score of 105-97 when they played Illinois. The Golden Gophers collected 14 defensive boards and 7 offensive boards for a total of 21 for this contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while recording 1 steal in this game. Illinois committed 16 personal fouls in this game which got the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They were able to convert 11 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 68.8%. In relation to shots from distance, Minnesota knocked down 14 of their 20 attempts (70.0%). Overall, the Golden Gophers ended up going 36 out of 60 from the field which gave them a percentage of 60.0%. The Golden Gophers allowed Illinois to make 38 out of their 62 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 61.3% for the matchup. They shot 45.5% from beyond the arc by going 10 out of 22 and finished the game at 19 of 25 from the free throw line (76.0%). In the matter of team rebounding, Minnesota allowed Illinois to get 31 in all (12 offensive).

Dawson Garcia pitched in for the Golden Gophers for this contest. He had 29 points in his 38 minutes of playing time and had 1 assist for the contest. He made 12 of 23 for the game for a field goal rate of 52.2%, and earned 2 rebounds.

Minnesota has a win-loss mark of 17-11 for the campaign. When it comes to executing on offense, the Golden Gophers are hitting on 47.4% from the field, which is 42nd in college basketball. Minnesota has accounted for 2,147 points on the campaign (76.7 per contest) and they grab 35.8 boards per game. They are assisting teammates 17.8 times per contest (7th in college basketball) and they turn it over 11.8 times per game. The Golden Gophers are responsible for committing 16.8 fouls every game while shooting 68.8% from the charity stripe.

The Minnesota defense concedes 34.3% from downtown (172 of 502) and opponents are knocking down 72.2% of their free throw shots. They have given up 13.8 dimes and 33.5 boards per contest, which is 272nd and 109th in college hoops. The Golden Gophers defensively are ranked 152nd in college hoops in points per game surrendered with 71.0. They are forcing 10.9 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 43.6% from the field (184th in college basketball).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Minnesota

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