Minnesota Basketball: Three keys to beating Penn State and how to watch Saturday’s game

The Barn

8:00 PM

BTN

Penn St

Penn State Nittany Lions

Record: 15-11 (6-9)
KenPom Rank: 49

Is this a chance for a win? Well, Penn State has not won a road game since December 10th. Ideally there is a strong turnout on Saturday night, realistically the student section will have better things to do. But maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance.

Let’s look to see where the Gophers may have an opportunity here.

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Slow down Jalen Pickett - The PSU guard is leading the Nittany Lions in scoring, rebounding and assists! His 18.1 points per game is 4th in the Big Ten, his 7.4 rebounds is 8th and his 7.0 assists is 1st. This guy is the heartbeat of this Penn State team. He won’t be stopped, but collectively they need to slow him down.

Win rebounding - Believe it or not, this is possible. PSU is one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the country and there’s reason to think that rebounds will not be what does in the Gophers this time.

No scoring lapses - Penn State is not known for their defense this year, so perhaps this won’t be a huge issue. But it tends to be.

PREDICTION

You know what? Screw it. I’m calling this a win. We’ve had several days off, maybe we get Garcia back and this is the first matchup in a long time where our weaknesses do not appear to be easily exposed.

Minnesota - 76
Penn State - 73