Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 2/18/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rutgers Scarlet Knights vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Sunday, February 18, 2024

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: BTN

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-9) will try to defeat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (14-10) at Williams Arena on Sunday.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights faced Northwestern and notched a win by a score of 63-60 in their last game. Rutgers wrapped up the contest having earned a 39.6% FG percentage (21 of 53) and converted 6 out of their 14 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Scarlet Knights knocked down 15 of 25 shots for a rate of 60.0%. In the matter of hauling in boards, they earned 29 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 13 dimes in the game in addition to forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and having 10 steals. When it comes to defending, Rutgers allowed the other team to go 36.0% from the floor on 18 of 50 shooting. Northwestern distributed 7 assists and had 6 steals in this matchup. On top of that, Northwestern pulled down 34 boards (7 offensive, 27 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Northwestern ended up shooting 84.2% from the charity stripe by converting 16 of 19 shots. They buried 8 of 21 attempts from long range. With respect to fouls, the Scarlet Knights ended up finishing with 17 while Northwestern accumulated 17 fouls.

Jeremiah Williams is a guy who came through in this game. He ended up finishing with 15 points on 6 out of 13 shooting. He played for 34 mins played and also pulled down 5 boards. He finished shooting 46.2% from the field and also distributed 5 dimes.

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Rutgers will enter this game with a win-loss record of 14-10 for the campaign. They average 66.8 points per game (330th in the country) while shooting 39.1% from the field. The Scarlet Knights are hitting 29.4% on 3-pointers (136 of 462) and 65.7% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Rutgers is grabbing 38.7 rebounds per contest and has tallied 286 dimes this season, which ranks 307th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn the ball over 11.6 times per contest and as a team they are committing 16.5 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Scarlet Knights are forcing 15.1 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.4 personal fouls. They are surrendering 30.6% on shots from downtown and they are ranked 25th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (64.8). The Scarlet Knights defense is giving up a FG percentage of 39.4% (541 of 1,372) and they concede 39.5 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They are 61st in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 278 surrendered this year.

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Minnesota Golden Gophers took a loss by a final score of 84-76 when they played Purdue. With respect to attacking the glass, Minnesota allowed Purdue to pull down 42 overall (15 offensive). They went 47.4% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 9 out of 19 and ended up going 19 of 32 from the charity stripe (59.4%). The Golden Gophers permitted Purdue to bury 28 out of their 59 tries from the field which had them at 47.5% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Golden Gophers ended up shooting 26 out of 59 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 44.1%. When talking about 3-pointers, Minnesota buried 12 of their 25 tries (48.0%). They were able to convert 12 of those for a percentage of 75.0%. Purdue committed 13 fouls for the contest which got the Golden Gophers to the charity stripe for a total of 16 attempts. They also gave up possession 5 times, while getting 5 steals in this game. The Golden Gophers were able to pull down 18 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 for this game.

Dawson Garcia ended up having an impact for the Golden Gophers in this contest. He tallied 24 points in his 32 mins of playing time and had 2 dimes in this contest. He converted 7 of 12 in this contest for a rate of 58.3%, and totaled 3 rebounds.

Minnesota has a win-loss mark of 15-9 for the season. When it comes to executing on offense, the Golden Gophers are shooting 47.4% from the field, which ranks 49th in the country. Minnesota has 1,826 points for the year (76.1 per contest) and they pull in 36.4 rebounds per contest. Their rate of earning assists is at 18.4 times per contest (7th in the nation) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 12.0 times per contest. The Golden Gophers are responsible for committing 16.7 fouls per game and they hit 68.3% from the free throw line.

The Minnesota defense allows 34.5% on shots from 3-point land (142 of 411) and opponents are knocking down 70.7% of their foul shots. They have given up 13.8 dimes and 33.5 boards per contest, which ranks them 270th and 114th in D-1. The Golden Gophers are ranked 105th in the country in points per game surrendered with 69.3. They are forcing 11.3 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.9% from the floor (148th in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rutgers

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