Northwestern at Minnesota 2/25/21 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

The Northwestern Wildcats will be looking to put an end to their 13-game losing streak traveling on the road to Williams Arena to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Northwestern hasn’t won a game since December and is fresh off a loss at home to #21 Wisconsin, dropping to 6-14 (3-13 conference). 

Minnesota has dropped three in a row and now finds themselves squarely on the bubble, they’re in Joe Lunardi’s last four in after a home loss to Illinois which dropped the Golden Gophers to 13-10 (6-10 conference). The loss at home is a rare one, Minnesota has lost just three games on their home floor and has beaten top-10 Iowa, Ohio State, and Michigan at home this season.

Minnesota has been a solid offense this year scoring 74.3 points per game ranking 107th in the country in scoring offense. The Gophers’ can thank their up-tempo pace for that, they’re shooting a dismal 40.3% from the field and 29.6% from beyond the arc, 321st and 319th nationally.

A pair of juniors lead the way with guard Marcus Carr becoming one of the best guards in the conference averaging 19 points on 41% shooting whilst dishing out a team-high 5 assists per game. The Gophers added Liam Robbins from Drake through the transfer portal, he’s made an immediate impact with 11.7 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per contest.

Not much has gone right for Northwestern since the New Year, the offense that looked as if it could hang around in the deep Big Ten has fallen off averaging 66.3 points per game in conference play. The Wildcats are shooting 43.8% from the field and 35.1% from beyond the arc, 195th and 110th in the country. 

Northwestern is lacking a true-number one scoring option although Chase Audige is the closest thing they have, he’s scoring a team-high 12.9 points and is second on the team with 2 assists per game. In the frontcourt, it’s junior forward Pete Nance pulling down a team-high 6.6 rebounds and adding 11.5 points per game.

The struggles, as you might guess from a team that hasn’t won in nearly 3 months, don’t stop on the offensive end for Northwestern. They’re giving up 71.9 points per game ranking 225th in the country in scoring defense. Opponents are shooting 43.3% from the field, 33.8% from three and the Wildcats are 197th in effective field-goal percentage.

Minnesota has relied on their offense and has had consistency issues on the defensive end allowing 73.6 points per game ranking 260th in the country in scoring defense. Opponents have shot 44% from the field and 34.2% from three ranking the Gophers 210th and 214th nationally. Minnesota is 69th in KenPom adjusted defense.