Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 03/09/2022

Game Time: 8:25 pm ET, Wednesday, March 9, 2022

Venue:  Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN

Where to Watch:  Big Ten Network

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Minnesota +3.5, PSU -3.5; Over/Under:  125 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Minnesota +3.5, PSU -3.5; Over/Under:  125.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Minnesota +3.5, PSU -3.5; Over/Under:  125.5 points

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  13-16 (13th place, Big Ten)

Penn State Nittany Lions:  12-16 (12th place, Big Ten)

 

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Minnesota Golden Gophers:  1-4 last 5

Penn State Nittany Lions:  1-4 last 5

 

 

 

Minnesota is coming into this game with a 13-16 record overall and they are 2-0 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have a record of 4-16 this season against conference opponents. They have lost 6 of their last 7 games and are coming into this one on a 4 game losing streak. Their last win was against the Northwestern Wildcats while their 4 losses since then have come against the Wisconsin Badgers, the Indiana Hoosiers, the Maryland Terrapins, and the Northwestern Wildcats in their last game. Jamison Battle led the team in points in that game with 20 while Payton Willis was next on the team with 16 points. Willis led the team in assists in that game with 7 and he also led the team in rebounds with 8. They were 36.5% from the field, 33.3% from 3-point range, and 75% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 67.6 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 69.5 PPG against them. Minnesota has an ATS record of 13-16 this season and their O/U record is 16-11-2.

 

 

PSU is coming into this game with a 12-16 record overall and they are 1-1 in their neutral site games this season where they will be in this game. They have a record of 7-13 against conference opponents this season. They have lost 4 of their last 5 games and are coming into this one on a 3 game losing streak. Their last win was against the Northwestern Wildcats while their 4 losses in that span came against the Maryland Terrapins, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Illinois Fighting Illini, and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights in their last game. Seth Lundy led the team in points in that game with 17 while John Harrar was next on the team with 15 points. Sam Sessoms off the bench led the team in assists in that game with 4 while Harrar led the team in rebounds with 17. They were 32.1% from the field, 25% from 3-point range, and 88.9% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 64.7 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 65.3 PPG against them. PSU has an ATS record of 16-12 this season and their O/U record is 10-18.

 

Minnesota has not been playing well in their last few games of the season. They are coming into this one losing 4 straight games and 6 of their last 7. Their last 2 losses were by double digits and most of their losses in their last 7 games were by double digits as well as they have not been playing well to end the season. They are going up against a PSU team that also has not been playing well recently losing their last 3 straight games but they have been keeping their games much closer. They have also been very good on defense in their games and that could be a big reason why they win in this game as well. PSU has not allowed more than 60 points in their last 2 games and they faced 2 good teams in Illinois and Rutgers. That also stretched back further as they have not really allowed more than 70 points in 6 of their last 7 games. PSU has been playing much better in their recent games and they have a defense that will make Minnesota struggle to score in this game. PSU will get the win here by single digits.

 

Minnesota Penn State Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Wednesday, March 9, 2022 (8:25 pm ET start time) is PSU 68 Minnesota 63.

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Minnesota Golden Gophers: 21-29 ATS as an underdog. 16-22 ATS revenging a loss vs opponent. 14-5 OVER as an underdog.

Penn State Nittany Lions: 25-14 ATS after playing a game as an underdog. 21-14 ATS off 2 or more consecutive road losses. 32-21 OVER after scoring 60 points or less 2 straight games.

 

 

Minnesota Golden Gophers:  I. Ihnen (F) out for season - Knee injury. P. Fox (F) out for season - Knee injury.

Penn State Nittany Lions:  None.

 

 

“I don’t necessarily get that emotional, but I know how much time these guys put into it, and again, you want to see them be successful, and you kind of don’t want it to end as a coach. These guys will be hard to replace. I think it’s a tribute to who they are. If they weren’t good kids and good people, it would probably be a lot easier, but these guys are big time.” - Ben Johnson after their game on Senior Day.

 

 

“It’s hard to change habits when you’ve been doing something for a really long time. I eat terrible. It’s really hard for me to eat good. I’ve been doing it forever. We’ve got guys that have been playing basketball a certain way for four or five years. Now I’m asking them to do it completely different — defensively, offensively and everything else. But they’ve done it and they’ve bought into it and they’ve done it well.” - Micah Shrewsberry on his coaching style this season.

 

 

 

J. Battle 

E. Curry 

L. Loewe 

E. Stephens 

P. Willis

 

M. Dread 

J. Harrar 

D. Johnson 

Seth Lundy 

J. Pickett 

 

 

PPG: J. Battle (17.4)

APG: P. Willis (4.4)

Reb/G: J. Battle (6.3)

 

PPG: J. Pickett (12.8)

APG: J. Pickett (4.3)

Reb/G: J. Harrar (10.3)

 

Coaches:

Minnesota Golden Gophers: Ben Johnson (1st season)

Penn State Nittany Lions: Micah Shrewsberry (1st season)