Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 2/4/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: BTN

The Penn State Nittany Lions (13-9) are hosting the Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-11) at Bryce Jordan Center on Tuesday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers took the court against Washington and went home with a loss by a final score of 71-68 in their last contest. With respect to fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up with 18 while Washington recorded 20 fouls. They made 7 of their 15 attempts from distance. Washington went 85.7% when shooting free throws by making 18 of 21 shots. In addition, Washington grabbed 31 rebounds (13 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Washington distributed 12 dimes and had 8 steals for the contest. In relation to defending, Minnesota allowed the other team to shoot 41.8% from the field on 23 of 55 shooting. They also doled out 17 assists in this contest in addition to forcing 13 turnovers and earning 9 steals. With respect to pulling down boards, they compiled 25 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. From the free throw line, the Golden Gophers knocked down 16 of 24 tries for a rate of 66.7%. Minnesota walked away from the game having earned a 52.3% field goal percentage (23 of 44) and made 6 of their 16 three-point attempts.

Dawson Garcia is a guy who came through in the game. He notched 28 points on 9 of 12 shooting. He was on the court for 30 mins and also pulled down 4 rebounds. He shot 75.0% from the field and also dished out 4 assists.

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Minnesota steps onto the hardwood with a record of 11-11 on the season. They average 68.8 points per contest (304th in college) while connecting on 44.7% from the floor. The Golden Gophers are hitting 32.5% on three-point attempts (147 of 452) and 64.0% from the free throw line. As a team, Minnesota is pulling in 33.8 boards per game and is sitting with 351 dimes on the season, which is 65th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. They are losing possession via turnover 10.6 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.0 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On defense, the Golden Gophers have forced 10.9 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.0 fouls. They are currently ranked 296th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 325 conceded for the season. The Golden Gophers defensively are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 43.4% (537 of 1,237) and they concede 35.0 boards per contest as a team. They are relinquishing 34.2% on 3-point attempts and they are 103rd in college in PPG allowed (69.0).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a defeat with a final score of 83-64 when they played Ohio State. Regarding team rebounding, Penn State allowed Ohio State to get 36 in total (10 offensive). They shot 36.4% from behind the 3-point line by going 8 of 22 and ended up shooting 17 out of 23 at the free throw line (73.9%). The Nittany Lions allowed Ohio State to make 29 of 62 tries from the field which left them with a rate of 46.8% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Nittany Lions walked away from this one shooting 21 out of 46 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 45.7%. When talking about three-point shots, Penn State converted 6 out of their 19 attempts (31.6%). They were able to bury 16 of them for a rate of 55.2%. Ohio State was called for 26 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Nittany Lions to the free throw line for 29 attempts. They also coughed it up 9 times, while getting 1 steal in the matchup. The Nittany Lions were able to collect 17 defensive boards and 2 offensive boards totaling 19 for the contest.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser ended up being a major contributor for the Nittany Lions for the matchup. He made 8 out of 14 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and added 5 rebounds. He earned 21 points in his 33 mins on the court, but didn't record an assist.

Penn State has a win-loss record of 13-9 this year. As an offensive team, the Nittany Lions are shooting 48.7% from the floor, which is ranked 24th in college hoops. Penn State has 1,811 pts on the year (82.3 per contest) and they snag 34.6 rebounds per contest. They are getting an assist 16.7 times per contest (33rd in the country) and they turn it over 11.9 times per game. The Nittany Lions have committed 16.7 fouls per game and they hit 74.7% from the free throw line.

The Penn State defense gives up 33.8% on 3-pointers (173 of 512) and their opposition knocks down 71.1% of their shots from the charity stripe. They give up 16.3 dimes and 33.9 rebounds per game, which ranks 353rd and 158th in D-1. The Nittany Lions on the defensive side of the court are 221st in D-1 in points allowed per contest with 72.6. They are forcing their opponents into 15.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.5% from the field (243rd in the country).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Penn State

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