GAME: #847 Penn State vs #848 Minnesota
TIME: 1/15/2020 – 9:00p EST
SPREAD: Minnesota -3.5
TOTAL: 144.5
SPORTSBOOK: 5Dimes Sportsbook
The Penn State Nittany Lions (12-4, 2-3) have a Big 10 Conference road game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-7, 3-3) at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Wednesday at 9 p.m. EST. In their last games out, Penn State fell 58-49 on their home court to Wisconsin on Saturday while Minnesota is coming off a big 75-67 win over then #19 Michigan Wolverines on Sunday. These teams met twice last year with Minnesota winning both games by scores of 65-64 and 77-72. Minnesota is not as good of a team as they were last year while Penn State has improved quite a bit.
PENN STATE NITTANY LIONS
The Penn State Nittany Lions are averaging 77 points per game on 44% field goal shooting while shooting over 30% from the three-point line and averaging 8 threes per game and also adding 10.6 offensive rebounds and turning the ball over only 12 times for contest. Penn State is allowing only 67 points per game on 39% field-goal shooting while forcing 15 turnovers per game adding 5.7 Steals and 2.9 blocks. Penn State is led by guard Lamar Stevens with 16.3 points 7.3 rebounds 2.4 assists 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game along with the Myreon Jones with 13.8 points 2.9 rebounds 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Brockington and Watkins also had 10 points per game.
MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
The Minnesota Golden Gophers are averaging 73 points per game on 44% field goal shooting averaging eight 3-pointers per game and 9 offensive rebounds. Minnesota is allowing 66 points per game on 41% field goal shooting while forcing 12.5 turnovers and adding 6 steals and 3.4 blocks per game. Minnesota is led by Daniel Oturu who is averaging 19.9 points 11.9 rebounds 2.9 blocks and is shooting 62% from the field along with Marcus Carr who is averaging 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game.
PENN ST. vs MINNESOTA PREDICTION
Minnesota is coming off a big upset win while Penn State is coming off a big upset loss. Both teams will be in opposite mentalities while the better team here is Penn State. Usually, after a big win teams are due for a letdown and after a big loss, teams usually regroup and come back strong with focus. Penn State dominates on the offensive end from the outside to the inside. Oturu will have a hard time scoring on Watkins as will Carr have more difficulty shooting from 3 and penetrating the Penn State D. Penn State focuses on defense with the ability to score where Minnesota often has offensive struggles if they aren’t shooting the ball at a high percentage. Penn State should be able to win this game and at least cover the spread.
TRENDS(from covers.com)
PENN STATE
- Over is 5-1 in Nittany Lions last 6 games following an ATS loss.
- Nittany Lions are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a straight-up loss.
MINNESOTA
- Over is 5-1 in Golden Gophers last 6 home games.
- The Golden Gophers are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
HEAD TO HEAD
- Home team is 7-3 ATS in the last 10 meetings.
BETTING ANGLES:
Bookie Analysis: Penn St. +3.5 / Over 144.5
Fade the Public: Penn St. +3.5 / no data
Sharp Action: Penn St. +3.5 / no data
Penn State vs Minnesota Prediction & Analysis – College Basketball