Minnesota Golden Gophers (7-0) vs Michigan State Spartans (7-2)
Wednesday, December 08, 2021 at 9:00 pm
Do not let its record fool you, I am not a big believer in Minnesota this year. The Golden Gophers are 7-0 to start the season but the quality of completion just has not been there. Minnesota's best win this season was in its last game at Mississippi State, but other than that the Gophers have not really impressed in my opinion. Beating a very bad Pitt team by only one point and only scoring 55 points against the A-Sun's Jacksonville is worrisome, and I think Michigan State, a team that has faced a daunting schedule already this season, has the advantage on both sides of the ball. Michigan State has already seen Kansas, Baylor, Butler, Loyola-Chicago, UConn, and Louisville. Michigan State has the #3 defense in adjusted defensive efficiency and should dominate the defensive glass and hold Minnesota to one shot per trip. Minnesota is ranked 357th in the nation in offensive rebounding and that is a big problem when facing such a tough defensive team like the Spartans. Minnesota has gotten rather lucky in terms of its opponents missing good-look three-point shots. Teams have shot a miserable 23.1% from deep on Minnesota this season, and when that number moves towards the mean, Minnesota is going to be in trouble. I will lay the points with the home favorite here.