Penn State Nittany Lions vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 2/22/2025 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Penn State Nittany Lions vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Saturday, February 22, 2025

Location: Williams Arena in Lawrence, KS

TV: BTN

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-12) welcome the Penn State Nittany Lions (14-13) at Williams Arena on Saturday.

The Penn State Nittany Lions played Nebraska and walked away with a win by a score of 89-72 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Nittany Lions finished with 13 and Nebraska accounted for 13 fouls. They also made 7 out of their 21 shots from 3-point range. Nebraska finished shooting 81.8% from the free throw line by knocking down 9 of their 11 tries. Additionally, Nebraska collected 19 rebounds (3 offensive, 16 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. Nebraska distributed 21 assists and had 6 steals for this contest. When it comes to the defense, Penn State let their opponent shoot 51.9% from the floor on 28 of 54 shooting. They also recorded 21 assists in the matchup while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and having 11 steals. In reference to grabbing rebounds, they earned 23 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. From the charity stripe, the Nittany Lions made 13 of 14 attempts for a percentage of 92.9%. Penn State ended the contest with a 60.7% FG percentage (34 of 56) and converted 8 of their 23 3-point shots.

Yanic Konan Niederhauser is one player who was a contributor in this game. He went 70.0% from the floor but didn't record a dime. He saw the court for 27 mins played and also grabbed 4 boards. He ended up with 19 points on 7 out of 10 shooting.

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Penn State will play this contest with a win-loss mark of 14-13 on the year. They are turning it over 12.2 times per contest and as a unit are committing 16.4 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Penn State is pulling down 33.7 boards per game and is sitting with 431 assists for the season, which ranks 39th in Division 1 in terms of passing. The Nittany Lions are shooting 33.6% on shots from beyond the arc (194 of 578) and 75.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 79.8 points per contest (53rd in D-1) while connecting on 47.8% from the field.

On the defensive end of the court, the Nittany Lions have forced 14.6 turnovers per game and they draw 19.5 fouls. They are conceding 35.2% on shots from distance while they are 236th in college in PPG from their opponents (73.5). The Nittany Lions are giving up a FG percentage of 45.8% (720 of 1,571) and they surrender 33.4 rebounds per game as a team. They are ranked 356th in the country in allowing assists to their opponents with 455 conceded on the year.

In their last game, the Minnesota Golden Gophers walked away with a victory by a final of 64-61 against UCLA. The Golden Gophers pulled down 18 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 25 for this game. They turned it over 12 times, while getting 7 steals in the matchup. UCLA was called for 17 fouls in this contest which got the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for a total of 13 shots. They were able to knock down 12 of them for a rate of 92.3%. With respect to shooting from distance, Minnesota made 8 of their 24 tries (33.3%). When all was said and done, the Golden Gophers went 22 for 48 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.8%. The Golden Gophers allowed UCLA to make 23 of their 51 attempts from the field which had them shooting 45.1% for the contest. They went 40.0% from 3-point land by shooting 6 of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 9 out of 19 from the free throw line (47.4%). In the matter of rebounds, Minnesota allowed UCLA to grab 25 in all (10 on the offensive side).

Dawson Garcia ended up being a factor for the Golden Gophers in this game. He made 9 of 15 for this game giving him a rate of 60.0%, and had 8 rebounds. He earned 32 points in his 40 minutes on the court and added 1 assist for this contest.

Minnesota has a record of 14-12 for the season. As an offensive unit, the Golden Gophers are shooting 44.8% from the floor, which is 184th in college. Minnesota has 1,790 points for the year (68.8 per game) and they average 33.5 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 15.5 times per contest (67th in D-1) and they lose possession by turning the ball over 10.6 times per game. The Golden Gophers have committed 17.0 fouls per game and they shoot 66.2% from the free throw line.

The Minnesota defense gives up 35.6% on 3-point attempts (180 of 505) and opponents are converting on 75.3% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 14.8 dimes and 34.3 total rebounds per game, which is 309th and 185th in college hoops. The Golden Gophers on the defensive end are ranked 104th in college hoops in PPG allowed with 69.3. They are able to force 10.7 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 43.9% from the field (193rd in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Minnesota

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