Green Bay at Minnesota 11/25/20 - NCAA Basketball Picks & Predictions

The Green Bay Phoenix visit Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Wednesday to play the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the opening game of the regular season for both. Green Bay begins its season with uncertainty as several new faces are on the roster. Only three players with significant experience in college basketball are on the roster but only two have played for Green Bay. The newcomers include Josh Jefferson who scored an average of 8.7 points per game in 2019. 

PJ Pipes returns after averaging 9.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last season for the Phoenix. Amari Davis was freshman of the year last season and will become a bigger contributor this season in the Phoenix offense. Green Bay will have talented newcomers but the question marks remain on how well the new pieces will all fit together on team that will have very little Division 1 basketball experience and even less depth at the frontcourt.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers were 15-16 overall and 8-12 in the Big Ten last season. Minnesota has lost Daniel Oturu to the NBA, but the team's second best player Marcus Carr decided to return. Carr scored an average of 15.4 points per game.  Another key returner for Minnesota is Gabe Kalscheur who averaged 11.6 points per game last season. New players for Minnesota include transfers Both Gach and Brandon Johnson and three freshmen.

Carr is one of the top returning players in the conference earning Third-Team Big Ten honors last season and was in the top 10 in the country in both total assists and minutes played. Kalscheur started every game last season for the Golden Gophers and along with Carr will give Minnesota a good foundation to build from.  Three transfers are joining Minnesota including Brandon Johnson who was a third-team all-MAC choice last season with Western Michigan while averaging 15.4 points per game.