The Milwaukee Panthers will travel to Williams Arena to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The game starts at 8:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 23 and will air on ES3.
The Golden Gophers easily got past Chicago State 70-52 in their last game. Jordan Murphy fueled the Golden Gophers, recording 12 points and 18 rebounds to notch his fourth double-double this season. The Panthers, meanwhile, are coming off a tough 92-91 loss to South Dakota in their last outing. Matt Tiby scored 31 points and recorded 17 rebounds earning his fifth double-double of the season.
Murphy has really been playing well as of late for the Golden Gophers, averaging 14.4 points, 12.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.0 block over the last five games.
The Golden Gophers should be expected to protect the ball well in this contest. They rank 35th in the nation at avoiding errors (TO% of 16.0%). Meanwhile, Milwaukee forces the 35th-fewest turnovers in the nation (16.1%).
Minnesota, a four-point favorite, will look to capitalize at home against Milwaukee. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is 144 points. The Golden Gophers enter the game with records of 6-5 Straight Up (SU) and 2-7 Against The Spread (ATS). The Golden Gophers are an incredibly accurate shooting team from the line with a .735 free throw percentage, one of the highest marks in Division I. Minnesota is very careful and attentive with the ball, averaging the 34th-fewest turnovers per game at only 11.0.
On the other side, Milwaukee has a SU record of 8-4 and an ATS record of 5-5. They sport the 39th-ranked scoring offense in the country, averaging 77.3 points per game. Milwaukee is one of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, knocking down 9.0 shots from three-point range per game. The Panthers are one of the top teams in the country at finding the open man with an average of 18.7 assists per game.
This game marks the first time Minnesota and Milwaukee have played one another in recent seasons.
Predictions: SU Winner – Minn, ATS Winner – UW-Mil, O/U – Over
Notes
Minnesota is 17-8 SU in its last 25 games at home.
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Wisc-Milwaukee’s last 5 games on the road.
Milwaukee scores 77.3 points per away game (ranked 39th). Minnesota ranks a poor 277th in points allowed at home, allowing 72.9 points.
Milwaukee lost its last game by a one-point margin. In games decided by a margin of three points or less, Minnesota is 1-1. Milwaukee is 1-2 in close games this season.
With 68.8 possessions and 1.081 points per possession, the Minnesota Golden Gophers perform worse on both metrics than the Milwaukee Panthers. Milwaukee averages 71.8 possessions and 1.118 points per possession.
Milwaukee has an average effective field goal percentage of 53.4%. Minnesota is a losing 1-2 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, the Minnesota Golden Gophers attempt 21.0 three point field goals per game and the Milwaukee Panthers attempt 26.0. In games where they attempt at least 20 threes, Minnesota has a winning 5-3 record, while Milwaukee is 6-4.
The 25th-ranked team in the category, Milwaukee has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.54 this season. Minnesota ranks 95th with an A/TO of 1.20.
Minnesota ranks 186th in offensive rebounds, while Milwaukee ranks 86th in defensive rebounds.
On average, Minnesota forces a turnover rate of 18.4%. When Milwaukee turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 4-2 record.
