College Basketball on Sunday and we will see the Illinois Fighting Illini travel Minneapolis to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The game is scheduled for a 6:00 pm (Eastern) start time and will be televised on the Big 10 Network. Currently the odds for the game have Minnesota favored by 9 points while the total sits at 138.5. Check out Sportsbook Spy to see who the Public is taking on all of today's games.
Analysis: Illinois started the year red-hot (12-0), but it promptly fell off the national radar by losing eight of its next 11 games. The Illini put themselves back on the map at top-ranked Indiana on Thursday however, mounting a comeback in the final minutes capped off by a game-winning bucket at the buzzer to claim a 74-72 victory, pulling to 16-8 overall and 3-7 in conference in the process. The Illini didn't appear to have much hope when they trailed Indiana by 10 points with 4:21 left to play, but it ended the game on a 15-3 run, which culminated in Tyler Griffey's game-winning layup as time expired that led to a court storming in Champaign. Illinois shot 44.8 percent from the floor in the thrilling triumph, and was paced by a pair of outstanding performances by backcourt mates D.J. Richardson (23 points) and Brandon Paul (21 points), who combined to shoot 7-of-15 from 3-point range. Illinois' offense is usually reliable, shooting 43.1 percent from the field for 72.2 ppg, but even though its scoring defense may seem respectable (67.2 ppg), it ranks last in the brutally tough Big Ten. Paul is one of the top scorers in the conference with 17.6 ppg, but he has more turnovers (74) than assists (70). Richardson shoots less than 38 percent from the field en route to his 12.3 ppg, and Tracy Abrams rounds out the double-digit scorers with 11.0 ppg.
Minnesota has put together a similar season to Illinois, as it started off by winning 15 of its first 16 games only to fall victim to the tough Big Ten schedule by losing five of the last seven. The Golden Gophers faced a difficult task on Wednesday with a road matchup against first-place Michigan State, where they fell by a 61-50 margin to drop to 5-5 in league play. Much like Illinois, Minnesota's offensive attack has been quite productive this season, the team shooting nearly 46 percent from the field for 72.2 ppg, but it was stifled in its latest game, making less than 37 percent of its shots en route to a lowly 50-point performance against Michigan State. Andre Hollins netted 11 points in the setback, while Trevor Mbakwe tallied nine points and 14 rebounds. Each of the starting five scored at least eight points, but the seven players who saw time off the bench combined for only four points. Andre Hollins usually leads the team with 14.0 ppg, doing a good portion of his damage from 3-point range (46-of-112). He also hands out a team-best 3.5 apg. Rodney Williams (11.9 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 1.5 bpg) and Mbakwe (9.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.7 bpg) man the trenches for the Gophers, who score 10.8 ppg more than their opponents on average.
Free Pick: I like the Under in this game. The last 3 in this series has gone over the total, but still just 1 of the last 10 in the series has put up more than 131 points during regulation. The first game between these teams put up 151 points, but that was at Illinois and at a time when the Gophers were playing higher scoring games. Minnesota’s home games have averaged 132.9 ppg, while their last 5 games overall have put up just 114.6 ppg. Illinois does play at a faster tempo, but still rely too much on the 3 to get their points and Minnesota allows 57.2 ppg at home, while also allowing teams to hit just 32.8% from long range on their home floor. Minnesota should slow the pace keeping this one in the 120’s.
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