Northwestern at Minnesota - 3/11/20 College Basketball Picks and Prediction
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Northwestern Wildcats (8-22) at Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-16)
College Basketball: Wednesday, March 11, 2020 at 6:00 pm (Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
The Line: Minnesota Golden Gophers -7.5 -- Over/Under: 138
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The Northwestern Wildcats (8-22, 3-17 CONF) and the Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-16, 8-12 CONF) will meet on Wednesday, March 11th for the 1st Round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament. The game will be played at a neutral site location at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 PM ET start time.
Northwestern is coming off an 80-69 upset win over Penn State at home in their last game of the regular season. Northwestern has now won two of its last three games overall. Minnesota is coming off a 101-75 home win over Nebraska. Minnesota defeated Northwestern on the road, 83-57, on February 23rd.
Northwestern scores 65.2 points per game on 41.6 percent field goal shooting this season. Northwestern’s leading scorer is F Miller Kopp, who scores 13.2 points per game. The leading rebounder for Northwestern is F Pete Nance, who earns 6.1 rebounds per game. Northwestern allows 69.9 points per game to the opposition, therefore they have a -4.7 scoring differential so far this season. Northwestern also earns 33.8 rebounds, 13.8 assists, 3.1 blocks, and 4.0 steals per game as a team.
Minnesota scores 71.0 points per game on 42.6 percent field goal shooting this season. Minnesota’s leading scorer and rebounder is C Daniel Oturu, who scores 20.0 points per game and earns 11.4 rebounds per game. Minnesota allows 66.6 points per game to the opposition, therefore they have a +4.4 scoring differential so far this season. Minnesota also earns 39.2 rebounds, 15.1 assists, 4.7 blocks, and 4.7 steals per game as a team.
Northwestern is 12-17-1 against the spread this season and 5-5 against the spread in their last ten games. Northwestern is also 1-1 against the spread in neutral site games so far this season. Minnesota is 16-11-3 against the spread this season and 4-4-2 against the spread in their last ten games. Minnesota is also 1-1 against the spread in neutral site games so far this season.
I like Minnesota in this matchup, as they are plainly the better team and have had much better results. Northwestern has had one of its worst seasons in a while, and I think C Daniel Oturu has his way in this game. Minnesota -7.5 for me.
Ronald’s Pick Minnesota -7.5
AUTHOR: Ronald Romanelli
