Minnesota Golden Gophers vs UCLA Bruins Prediction, 2/18/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs UCLA Bruins

Date: Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Location: Pauley Pavilion in Auburn, AL

TV: FS1

The UCLA Bruins (18-7) will go up against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-12) at Pauley Pavilion on Tuesday.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers played Illinois and went home with a loss by a final score of 95-74 in their last game. Minnesota ended the contest having earned a 40.9% FG percentage (27 of 66) and knocked down 8 of their 20 shots from beyond the perimeter. At the free throw line, the Golden Gophers made 12 of their 14 attempts for a rate of 85.7%. In relation to pulling down rebounds, they earned 20 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 15 assists for the contest while forcing 6 turnovers and earning 5 steals. In relation to defending, Minnesota allowed 63.2% from the field on 36 out of 57 shooting. Illinois distributed 21 assists and had 1 steal in this matchup. In addition, Illinois snagged 37 rebounds (9 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't record a block for the team. Illinois finished 87.5% from the charity stripe by knocking down 14 of 16 attempts. They knocked down 9 of 16 tries from beyond the arc. When talking about fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up walking away with 15 while Illinois accounted for 17 fouls.

Lu'Cye Patterson is one player who played a role for the game. He finished the game shooting 52.9% from the floor and totaled 4 assists. He was on the court for 37 minutes played and grabbed 1 board. He recorded 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting.

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Minnesota heads into this one with a mark of 12-12 this season. They average 69.0 pts per contest (302nd in the country) while connecting on 44.8% from the floor. The Golden Gophers are hitting 32.9% on shots from 3-point land (160 of 486) and 65.2% from the free throw line. As a unit, Minnesota is snagging 33.5 boards per contest and has racked up 378 dimes on the year, which is 88th in college in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 10.4 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.0 fouls every game.

Defensively, the Golden Gophers are able to force 10.7 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 17.0 fouls. They are conceding 34.7% on 3-point attempts and they are 119th in college hoops in PPG allowed (69.8). The Golden Gophers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 43.9% (593 of 1,352) and they relinquish 34.9 boards per contest as a group. They are 281st in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 357 surrendered on the year.

When they last played, the UCLA Bruins took a loss by a final score of 83-78 when they faced Illinois. In regard to rebounding, UCLA allowed Illinois to get 33 overall (9 on the offensive glass). They finished 39.3% from beyond the arc by hitting 11 of 28 and ended up shooting 18 out of 20 at the charity stripe (90.0%). The Bruins allowed Illinois to make 27 of 53 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 50.9% for this contest. When the final whistle blew, the Bruins finished shooting 28 for 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.3%. In terms of shooting from beyond the arc, UCLA buried 12 of 23 attempts (52.2%). They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 66.7%. Illinois was called for 14 personal fouls for the game which got the Bruins to the charity stripe for a total of 15 shots. They also gave up possession of the ball 7 times, while getting 8 steals for the matchup. The Bruins were able to pull down 17 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 21 in this game.

Tyler Bilodeau ended up being a factor for the Bruins in this game. He knocked down 9 of 17 for this game giving him a field goal percentage of 52.9%, and had 3 rebounds. He scored 25 points in his 32 minutes on the court and added 1 assist in the matchup.

UCLA has a record of 18-7 for the season. The Bruins are committing 17.7 personal fouls per game while shooting 70.6% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 15.9 times per contest (50th in college hoops) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.5 times per game. UCLA has totaled 1,891 pts so far this year (75.6 per contest) and they snag 32.1 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Bruins are shooting 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 73rd in the nation.

The UCLA defense surrenders 31.9% on shots from behind the 3-point line (182 of 570) and opponents are knocking down 73.8% of their free throw shots. They concede 12.6 dimes and 31.6 boards per game, ranking them 136th and 36th in college hoops. The Bruins on the defensive end are ranked 24th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 64.6. They are able to force 16.2 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 42.8% from the floor (137th in the country).

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UCLA

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