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Where
penn state
When
11:00 aM
How
Espnu
| Pos. | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Penn State Nittany Lions | Pos. | |
| PG | Nate Mason | 14.3 | 11.5 | Tony Carr | PG | |
| G | Dupree McBrayer | 12.1 | 12.8 | Shep Garner | G | |
| F | Amir Coffey | 12.2 | 8.3 | Josh Reeves | G | |
| F | Jordan Murphy | 10.3 | 12.7 | Lamar Stevens | F | |
| C | Reggie Lynch | 8.2 | 2.6 | Julian Moore | F | |
| Bench | Eric Curry | 6.0 | 12.0 | Payton Banks | Bench | |
| Bench | Akeem Springs | 8.8 | 10.0 | Mike Watkins | Bench | |
| Bench | Bakary Konate | 2.2 | 4.5 | Terrance Samuel | Bench |
If you are like me, you haven't paid much attention to Penn State this year but this is a pretty talented Nittany Lion squad. One bad loss at home to George Mason earlier in the year but has since made up for that with a nice win over Michigan State.
Efficiency Stats (national rank in parenthesis if significant)
| Minnesota (34) | Penn St (82) | |
| Off PPP | 1.081 | 1.042 |
| Def PPP | 0.923 (10) | 0.966 |
| Off TO% | 16.4% | 18.2% |
| Def TO% | 18.9% | 20.5% |
| Off Reb % | 28.6% | 27.4% |
| Def Reb % | 70.6% | 71/4% |
Keys to a Gopher Win
Bounce Back - This is a dangerous game. After getting pumelled by Michigan State earlier this wee the Gophers have to travel to Penn State against a team that is typically in the bottom half of the league and it is an 11:00 tip off. The Gophers need to bounce back from that Michigan State loss and get this tough road win by coming out and playing great D from the opening tip.
Get Mason Going Again - Since Nate Mason went off for 30 at Purdue he has struggled from the floor shooting 28.5% and just 2/11 from three. It is time to get him going again and hopefully he finds his stroke again. He obviously doesn't need 30 and we can win with him getting to the line often (see @Northwestern) but I'd like to see him get going and running the offense through him. He'll get everyone else involved.
Prediction
This is a game I think we win, being on the road and such an early tip-off makes me nervous though. If have a hangover and let Penn State make some shots early, we could be in trouble. Ultimately Penn State's offense isn't very good and our defense is very good. I suspect they'll have a much more difficult time scoring than we will and the Gophers get their third road win of the year.