No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 25 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA Lines
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Date/Time: Thursday, January 13, 7 PM ET
Venue: Williams Arena, Minneapolis, MN
Broadcast: ESPN
Purdue Boilermakers vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers Betting Lines from Justbet
Money Line: Minnesota (+145) Purdue (-165)
Spread: Purdue -3.5
Over/Under: 135.5
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No. 8 Purdue Boilermakers vs. No. 25 Minnesota Golden Gophers Preview
Tonight in the Land of 10,000 Lakes in a Big 10 match up the 25th ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-4) host the 8th ranked Purdue Boilermakers (15-1). NCAA lines have Purdue as 3.5-point favorites with a total of 135.5.
This season Minnesota is 1-3 in Big 10 play while Purdue is 4-0 in conference play.
In their last games both teams played on Sunday, but with different results, as Minnesota lost to Ohio State 67-64 while Purdue beat Iowa 75-52.
Purdue has won 10 straight while Minnesota is struggling losing 3 of their last 4 games. The start of the Big 10 season has been killer for the Golden Gophers and they have not played well losing to 3 ranked teams in Wisconsin, Michigan State, and a 2nd ranked Ohio State team that will likely be the new #1 since Duke lost last night.
All of the Big 10 losses for the Golden Gophers have been on the road and head coach Tubby Williams recently stated, “We just need to get back to the friendly confines of “The Barn.” Smith said, referring to the Williams Arena where they have yet to lose on the season.
This season Purdue has been a solid betting team going 10-3 ATS while Minnesota has not at 7-9 ATS. Purdue is 1-3-1 ATS in the last 5 games in Minnesota.
Many thought the Boilermakers would not be a legit national championship contender when they lost former Big Ten player of the year Robbie Hummel to a knee injury before the season, but their other 2 stars of JaJuan Johnson (19.4 ppg 8.3 rpg) and E’Twaun Moore (18.8 ppg 6 rpg) have played well, for the most part, and other guys are stepping up.
Johnson and Moore have been in a minor scoring slump for the last couple of games, but Purdue has still won and a player that has really picked up the slack is G Ryne Smith (7.4 ppg), who is averaging 17 ppg in and is shooting lights out (66.7%) from beyond the 3-point arc in Big 10 play. In the win over Iowa he scored 18 points and hit 6 of 9 of his 3-point bombs.
Minnesota G Blake Hoffarber (13.4 ppg) was supposed to team with Devoe Joseph (11.4 ppg) to form a legit backcourt, but Johnson was suspended for the first 6 games and has not played the last 2 and it looks as he is done at the school, as he has said he will transfer. Luckily Tubby Smith did not suspend Trevor Mbakwe (13.4 ppg 10.4 rpg) for his recent arrest and he will have to have a good game tonight, especially on the boards.
The Golden Gophers have to shoot the rock better than they did in their loss to Ohio State when they shot 42.2% from the floor and only 14.3% from 3-point range. If they cannot shoot the rock well, especially from deep, the Boilermakers will pack the lane and make it very hard for Minnesota to score.
Johnson and Moore are averaging around 14 rebounds per game combined and they have to contain Mbakwe and not allow him to dominate the glass.
The Boilermakers have won 5 straight regular-season meetings, but in their last meeting the Gophers upset them in last season’s Big Ten tournament semifinals.
The Golden Gophers have a couple of big distractions with their player issues while the Boilermakers are focused. Minnesota is at home tonight, but they do not match up well with Purdue and the Boilermakers will play a great inside/outside game and win. The betting trends points to them covering, which they will do tonight.
Betting Trends
Minnesota is 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games and 0-6 ATS in their last 6 home games and Purdue is 4-0 ATS in their last 4 road games and 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games.
Pick: Purdue -3.5
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