Northwestern Wildcats vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 2/25/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Northwestern Wildcats vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Location: Williams Arena in Blacksburg, VA

TV: Peacock

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-13) will go up against the Northwestern Wildcats (14-13) at Williams Arena on Tuesday.

The Northwestern Wildcats took the court against Ohio State and took home the win by a score of 70-49 in their last game. Concerning fouls, the Wildcats ended up finishing with 16 and Ohio State racked up 18 fouls. They also knocked down 4 of 21 tries from beyond the perimeter. Ohio State ended up going 84.6% when shooting free throws by burying 11 of 13 tries. Moreover, Ohio State snagged 20 rebounds (7 offensive, 13 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Ohio State distributed 8 dimes and had 5 steals in this contest. Concerning the defense, Northwestern allowed the other team to shoot 32.7% from the field on 17 out of 52 shooting. They also doled out 5 assists for the contest as well as forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and getting 4 steals. In reference to pulling down boards, they earned 33 with 11 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Wildcats converted 18 of 19 tries for a rate of 94.7%. Northwestern wrapped up the contest having earned a 46.3% field goal percentage (25 out of 54) and converted 2 of 14 3-point attempts.

Nick Martinelli is someone who was a factor in the game. He shot 46.7% from the field but had no assists at the end of the game. He saw the court for 33 mins and also totaled 5 boards. He accounted for 18 points on 7 out of 15 shooting.

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Northwestern comes into this one with a win-loss record of 14-13 on the campaign. They have an average of 73.4 pts per game (205th in D-1) while hitting 44.2% from the field. The Wildcats are hitting 33.3% on shots from distance (182 of 547) and 73.7% from the free throw line. As a unit, Northwestern is collecting 34.2 rebounds per game and has tallied 384 assists so far this season, which is 180th in college hoops in terms of passing. They turn it over 9.9 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats have forced 13.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 16.7 personal fouls. They relinquish 34.1% on three-point shots and they are 111th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (69.7). The Wildcats defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 43.8% (640 of 1,462) and they relinquish 33.6 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 257th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 389 surrendered this year.

In their last game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 69-60 when they played Penn State. In the matter of team rebounding, Minnesota permitted Penn State to grab 33 overall (5 offensive). They shot 28.6% from beyond the perimeter by going 4 of 14 and finished the game at 23 out of 25 from the charity stripe (92.0%). The Golden Gophers allowed Penn State to convert 21 of 46 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.7% for the contest. In all, the Golden Gophers shot 20 out of 59 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 33.9%. With respect to 3-point shots, Minnesota made 5 out of their 23 tries (21.7%). They were able to convert 15 of the free throws for a rate of 75.0%. Penn State was called for 16 personal fouls for this game which took the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for a total of 20 tries. They coughed up the ball 8 times, while earning 9 steals in this game. The Golden Gophers were able to collect 20 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 29 for the contest.

Femi Odukale ended up being important for the Golden Gophers for the matchup. He earned 15 points in his 22 minutes on the hardwood and earned 4 dimes in this game. He made 4 out of 4 for this game for a field goal percentage of 100.0%, and earned 2 rebounds.

Minnesota has a win-loss record of 14-13 for the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the Golden Gophers are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which is ranked 205th in college. Minnesota has scored 1,850 pts this year (68.5 per contest) and they average 33.5 rebounds per contest. They are earning an assist 15.5 times per game (66th in the nation) and they are turning it over 10.6 times per game. The Golden Gophers are responsible for committing 17.1 fouls every game and they connect on 66.5% from the free throw line.

The Minnesota defense surrenders 35.5% on shots from beyond the perimeter (184 of 519) and opponents are making 76.1% of their free throw attempts. They have relinquished 14.9 dimes and 34.4 total rebounds per game, which is ranked 311th and 190th in those defensive categories. The Golden Gophers on defense are ranked 97th in D-1 in PPG given up with 69.3. They have forced 10.9 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.0% from the floor (200th in Division 1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Northwestern

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