Nebraska vs. Minnesota Odds
| Nebraska Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-2.5 -105 | 147.5 -105o / -115u | -140 |
| Minnesota Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Point Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+2.5 -115 | 147.5 -105o / -115u | +115 |
Big Ten play has arrived, and two programs that have found themselves at the bottom of the standings the last few seasons will face off looking for their first win of the conference season as Nebraska meets Minnesota at The Barn in Minneapolis. Both teams have some star power, and there is reason to believe in their upside compared to past seasons.
For Minnesota, this will be its second game against a Big Ten opponent in just three days, following a 10-point loss to Ohio State. There is no shame in that result for the Gophers, as the Buckeyes look like a formidable opponent. Minnesota is solid on both sides of the ball and features a scoring star in Dawson Garcia who can take over a game any night.
Nebraska has its own star in Keisei Tominaga, who is one of the most exciting offensive players in college basketball. Tominaga has tallied two 20-point games in his last three, and has made at least one 3-pointer in every game this season.
Both teams would feel a lot better about themselves with a win here.
Nebraska Cornhuskers
Nebraska opened the season with seven consecutive wins, but only one came against a quality opponent — that was a 10-point win over Duquesne. Nebraska owns the 33rd-ranked offense in the country, and Fred Hoiberg has to like what he has to work with on that end in this season.
The Cornhuskers' offense is catered to its personnel, namely Tominaga, who is a flamethrower shooter who will pull up from anywhere inside half court. The Huskers shoot a ton of threes, as 45% of their shots come from outside.
While the shots have not always fallen from 3-point range, the Huskers do other things well offensively too. They rarely turn the ball over, they score at the rim, they get to the free throw line and make those shots. Their offense should travel to this game.
Minnesota Golden Gophers
Minnesota has not shown the same ceiling as Nebraska this year, but it has shown a reasonably high floor. The Gophers do not have a bad loss yet, and are 5-0 against teams outside the KenPom Top 100.
Minnesota has been at its best around the rim, both on offense and on defense. Minnesota ranks 18th in the country in 2-point shooting percentage, and 27th in the country in 2-point defense. The Gophers' frontcourt has a handful of quality options, including Garcia and Pharrel Payne.
While Minnesota has not lost to a bad opponent yet, it also have not beaten a good one. The Gophers let a huge lead slip at home to a Missouri team that is ranked 23 spots lower than Nebraska on KenPom.
They will need to take away the 3-point line to win here, which they have been good at this year, holding teams to just 29% of their shot attempts coming from behind the arc.
Nebraska vs. Minnesota
Betting Pick & Prediction
Nebraska has more star-power, and is happy to bomb away from outside instead of trying to beat Minnesota where it is best around the rim.
This is a great bounce-back spot for the Cornhuskers after the loss to Creighton over the weekend.
I love Nebraska here.
Pick: Nebraska -1.5
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