9:05 pm
February 17

Minnesota @ Indiana

Who will WIN this matchup?

Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-8)

@ Indiana Hoosiers (11-9)

 

Current odds:

Minnesota Golden Gophers: (+210)

Indiana Hoosiers: (-250)

 

• The line for this game is Indiana by 6.5 points.

• The Minnesota Golden Gophers and Indiana Hoosiers may not be entirely comfortable with the surroundings when they hook up on Wednesday night for a Big Ten game in Bloomington, Ind. The reason that’s the case is that Minnesota has been awful on the road, while Indiana hasn’t been good at home.

• The Golden Gophers (13-8, 6-8 Big Ten) enter the contest 0-7 this season away from their Williams Arena home, the latest setback on the road being a 72-59 loss at Maryland on Sunday that prevented Minnesota from winning three games in a row. Of those seven road losses, six of them have been by double-digits.

• If there was a silver lining for Minnesota against Maryland, it was the play of freshman Jamal Mashburn, Jr. and sophomores Isaiah Ihnen and Tre Williams, who combined for 36 points to help compensate for a group of veterans who struggled or were hobbled by injuries. The most notable of those injuries is to center Liam Robbins, who has been limited by an ankle injury, and guard Both Gach, who has been bothered by a foot injury.

• Playing at Indiana might give Minnesota some hopes of curing its road woes, given the Hoosiers are just 5-4 at home this season. Indiana (11-9, 6-7 Big Ten) is coming off a 78-59 loss at No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday, a game that saw the Hoosiers fall behind 21-6 to start.

• Slow starts are a problem Indiana coach Archie Miller is fully aware of, considering Indiana fell behind 21-7 at Northwestern in its previous game before the Ohio State loss.

• The winner of the game should get a boost for its NCAA Tournament resume. As of Monday, Indiana was No. 51 in the NET rankings, while Minnesota was No. 53.

7/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Indiana Hoosiers
Previous Pick
Next Pick