Who’s Playing
Minnesota @ Penn State
Current Records: Minnesota 12-11; Penn State 10-12
What to Know
Get ready for a Big Ten battle as the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Penn State Nittany Lions will face off at 4 p.m. ET Thursday at Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State will be strutting in after a victory while Minnesota will be stumbling in from a loss.
The Golden Gophers have to be hurting after a devastating 70-45 defeat at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday. One thing holding Minnesota back was the mediocre play of guard Payton Willis, who did not have his best game: he finished with only five points on 2-for-11 shooting and turned the ball over five times in his 34 minutes on the court.
Meanwhile, Penn State sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 62-58 win over the Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday. Forward John Harrar was the offensive standout of the matchup for Penn State, dropping a double-double on 16 points and 16 rebounds.
Minnesota is expected to lose this next one by 5.5. Those playing the odds have seen things go back and forth with the Golden Gophers, who are 11-12 against the spread.
Minnesota is now 12-11 while Penn State sits at 10-12. A couple stats to keep in the back of your head while watching: Minnesota enters the game with only 9.6 turnovers per game on average, good for sixth best in college basketball. Less enviably, Penn State is stumbling into the contest with the 358th fewest takeaways in college basketball, having accrued only 8.9 on average.
How To Watch
- When: Thursday at 4 p.m. ET
- Where: Bryce Jordan Center — University Park, Pennsylvania
- TV: Big Ten Network
- Follow: CBS Sports App
- Ticket Cost: $6.00
Odds
The Nittany Lions are a solid 5.5-point favorite against the Golden Gophers, according to the latest college basketball odds.
The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Nittany Lions as a 6-point favorite.
Over/Under: -111
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Series History
Minnesota have won six out of their last ten games against Penn State.
- Feb 12, 2022 – Minnesota 76 vs. Penn State 70
- Mar 03, 2021 – Penn State 84 vs. Minnesota 65
- Feb 08, 2020 – Penn State 83 vs. Minnesota 77
- Jan 15, 2020 – Minnesota 75 vs. Penn State 69
- Mar 14, 2019 – Minnesota 77 vs. Penn State 72
- Jan 19, 2019 – Minnesota 65 vs. Penn State 64
- Jan 15, 2018 – Minnesota 95 vs. Penn State 84
- Feb 25, 2017 – Minnesota 81 vs. Penn State 71
- Jan 14, 2017 – Penn State 52 vs. Minnesota 50
- Jan 05, 2016 – Penn State 86 vs. Minnesota 77
Injury Report for Penn State
- Greg Lee: Out (Knee)
Injury Report for Minnesota
- Parker Fox: Game-Time Decision (Knee)
- Isaiah Ihnen: Out for the Season (Knee)
