Minnesota Basketball OPEN THREAD: Gophers back on the road at #22 Penn State

Where

Bryce Jordan Center

When

3:00 PM

How

BTN

Who

Penn State

Minnesota got one of their resume building wins when they took down Penn State at the Barn in January. It was a physical and tough win for the Gophers and the end of the game got a little testy between these two teams. This game promises to be more of the same.

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Daniel Oturu is the man - The sophomore had 27 points in the first matchup and he will need to be the focal point of the Gopher offense once again. He also will need to keep his emotions in check and avoid the psychological warfare Penn State will almost certainly wage. On the road is no place to give more reasons to the refs to blow the whistle.

Continue shooting well - Shooting woes have sunk the Gophers in several games this season, but when they shoot well they succeed. Going 41% from the field on Wednesday helped propel them past the Badgers in dominating fashion.

Which defense will show up? The Gophers held Wisconsin to just 28% from the field on Wednesday and have the Big Ten’s fifth-best field goal percentage defense. The Nittany Lions shot 60% from the field in the first half in their last meeting and have a ton of weapons. The Gophers will need to hold serve in what could be a testy defensive matchup.

PREDICTION

The Gophers haven’t won a road matinee since 2017 against Rutgers. Penn State is on fire right now and has been resting since Tuesday.

Penn State - 70
Minnesota - 65