The Purdue Boilermakers (9-4) travel to face off against the Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-5) on Thursday, January 2nd. This game will be played at Williams Arena in Minneapolis and televised on FS1. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Tip-off is set for 8:00 ET.

Purdue Boilermakers vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

The Boilermakers Are Coming Off A Win

Purdue improved to 9-4 on the season with an 83-64 win over Toledo on Sunday. The Boilermakers were -20.5 point favorites going into the game, but they didn’t cover the spread. The combined points of 147 fell short of the 155.5 O/U line.

Purdue led 39-28 at halftime and added 44 points in the 2nd half while allowing 36. Though they didn’t cover the spread, the Boilermakers took care of business at home.

The Golden Gophers Are Coming Off A Win

The Golden Gophers improved to 8-5 on the season with a 90-68 win over Morgan State on Sunday. Playing at home, Minnesota was a heavy favorite, but they didn’t cover the -24 spread. The game’s total points of 158 exceeded the O/U line of 144.5.

Minnesota took control early, leading 55-37 at halftime. In the 2nd half, they outscored Morgan State 35-31, but the Bears kept it closer than expected.

Boilermakers Offense Breakdown

Purdue put up 83 points in their last game, shooting 49.2% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 57.1%. They connected on 60% of their two-point attempts and hit 35.7% from beyond the arc, making 10 of 28 threes. The Boilermakers also grabbed 12 offensive rebounds and dished out 22 assists.

Braden Smith led the way with 34 points and 12 assists, hitting 6 of 13 from three-point range. Trey Kaufman-Renn added 23 points on 11 of 14 shooting, while Fletcher Loyer contributed 17 points, knocking down 4 of 7 threes.

Golden Gophers Offense Breakdown

In their latest game, Minnesota’s offense put up 90 points, shooting 51.7% from the field with an effective field goal percentage of 63.3%. They connected on 44.8% of their three-point attempts, hitting 13 of 29 from deep, while shooting 58.1% on two-pointers.

Kameron Hobbs led the way with 25 points and 4 assists, while Mike Mitchell Jr. added 22 points, hitting 6 of 8 threes. Dawson Garcia contributed 18 points, shooting 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.

Boilermakers Team Defense

Even though Purdue allowed 64 points, their defense struggled, giving up 49% shooting from the field. Opponents hit 31 of 63 shots.

Inside the arc, Purdue’s defense gave up 60% shooting, with opponents making 21 of 35 two-point attempts. From three-point range, opponents shot 35%, hitting 10 of 28.

Golden Gophers Team Defense

Purdue’s defense gave up 64 points while allowing the opposing team to shoot 49% from the field. They struggled to contain two-point shots, with the other team hitting 60% (21/35) from inside the arc.

From three-point range, Purdue’s opponents shot 35%, making 10 of 28 attempts. They also sent the other team to the free-throw line 15 times, where they converted 11 shots (73%). Purdue allowed 12 offensive rebounds in the game.

Boilermakers vs Golden Gophers Trends

• When looking at their past five road matchups, Purdue has an ATS record of 2-3 while averaging 67 per game. The team went 2-3 overall in these games.
• Through their last five home contests, the Golden Gophers offense has averaged 64 points per game while allowing an average of 72. Minnesota posted an overall record of 1-4 while going 1-4 ATS.
• In their last ten games as the betting underdog, the Golden Gophers have a straight up record of 1-9 and an ATS mark of 2-7-1.
• As the betting favorite, the Boilermakers have an ATS mark of just 5-5 in their last ten games. Purdue posted a straight up mark of 9-1 in these matchups.

Boilermakers vs Golden Gophers Prediction

Entering the game as underdogs with a spread of +6.5, the Golden Gophers is our point spread pick. Our projections not only see them covering the spread but also indicate a solid chance of an outright victory. This is a good choice for those looking for a higher moneyline payout.

Right now, the over/under line for the game is sitting at 136.5 and given that our model is projecting 145 points between the teams, we like the over.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.