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The Minnesota Golden Gophers take on the Purdue Boilermakers. Check out our college basketball odds series for our Minnesota Purdue prediction and pick.
The Purdue Boilermakers were not at their best this past week against Florida State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Florida State entered the game with only one win, but the game was a genuine question with four minutes left in regulation. The Seminoles trailed from seven to 10 points at that stage of the game. Purdue was not on the knife's edge of losing, but the Boilermakers certainly had a much less comfortable game than many were expecting. Should anyone be concerned about this? There are two lines of argument to put forth.
First, the positive view: Purdue had just taken care of Duke on Sunday, part of a long weekend on the road in Portland at the Phil Knight Legacy tournament. Purdue had destroyed Gonzaga earlier in that tournament. Handling the Zags and Duke in a three-day span is pretty draining, so then going on the road and taking care of business against Florida State is fine, even if the margin wasn't big and the collective peformance wasn't very impressive. Teams are simply not going to be ruthless machines in every game they play, and that is the reality of a long season in any sport, not just college basketball.
The more skeptical view is that Purdue, currently a top-five team in college basketball, ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the polls in the early portion of last season. Then it lost to Rutgers and went through a period in which it suffered. The Boilermakers' struggles played a part in getting a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament instead of a No. 2 or No. 1 seed. That Florida State game could point to a lull for Purdue, which is exactly what coach Matt Painter wants to avoid. Therefore, no matter which argument you might prefer or agree with in this larger discussion, it is definitely important for Purdue to pounce on Minnesota and make a clear statement — to itself more than any outsiders — that it can bounce back from a choppy outing and play a complete game. The Boilermakers need to avoid lapsing into bad habits and wobbly ways. Zach Edey, Purdue's frontcourt beast, needs to lead the way in this game.
Minnesota just lost to Virginia Tech by 10 points in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Coach Ben Johnson is trying to build this program and get his recruits to mesh on the court. It seems like a long-term work in progress and not a quick fix. The loss to Virginia Tech has been accompanied by other losses to DePaul and UNLV. The Golden Gophers have a lot of work to do in their larger attempt to get better. This Purdue game will be a particularly important measuring stick for Minnesota.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Minnesota-Purdue College Basketball odds.
College Basketball Odds: Minnesota-Purdue Odds
Minnesota Golden Gophers: +19.5 (-115)
Purdue Boilermakers: -19.5 (-105)
Over: 129.5 (-110)
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Under: 129.5 (-110)
Why Minnesota Could Cover the Spread
This is a really huge spread. As mediocre as Minnesota has been in the early portion of the season, Big Ten basketball involves a lot of street fights and ugly slugfests in which the better team doesn't run away and hide. This could be one of those games. Minnesota could lose by 19 and play poorly and still cover.
Why Purdue Could Cover the Spread
Purdue wants to set things right after that unconvincing performance against Florida State. If Purdue plays a complete game, it will win by 30.
Final Minnesota-Purdue Prediction & Pick
This is a game in which the Purdue lull will probably continue just enough to enable Minnesota to cover.
Final Minnesota-Purdue Prediction & Pick: Minnesota +19.5
