Big Ten Basketball: A Look at Indiana-Minnesota

Indiana Hoosiers at Minnesota Golden Gophers, Williams Arena, Minneapolis, MN
Tuesday, Janauary 4, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: ESPN2
Opening Line: Minnesota -10
Current Line: Minnesota -9
Opening Total: 141
Current Total: 138 1/2
Money Line: Minnesota -450 / Indiana +375

The Minnesota Gophers are 9 point favorites at home against Big Ten rivals the Indiana Hoosiers.

The 9-6 Indiana Hoosiers travel to Minneapolis to take on the #21 11-3 Minnesota Golden Gophers in Big Ten action. Both are 0-2 in conference play and are hungry for a win. Indiana has lost 4 games in a row after a 9-2 start. including losses to Penn St and Ohio St. They also have losses in a tournament in Las Vegas to Northern Iowa and Colorado. The Hoosiers also have losses to Boston College and Kentucky on the year. The Hoosiers have wins over Wright St and Evansville early in the season but the resume is pretty thin. Minnesota has losses at Wisconsin and Michigan St to start the Big Ten season. Both are ranked in the top 25. The Gophers lost at home against Virginia earlier in the season. The Gophers have wins over North Carolina and West Virginia earlier in the season in a tournament in Puerto Rico. Indiana leads the all time series between the two teams 92-64, but Minnesota won the last time they played last February, 81-58 in Minneapolis. Indiana has won and covered 3 of the last 4 times they played against Minnesota, and 3 of those 4 games have gone over the total. The Hoosiers are 9-18 ATS against teams with winning records the last 2 seasons.

Indiana is outscoring opponents 75-65 on the season. They shoot 49.3% from the field and 38.5% from 3 point range. Hoosier opponents shoot 41.1% from the field. The Hoosiers make 68.2% of their free throws. Forward Christian Watford leads the tem in scoring with 17.2 ppg and rebounds with 5.5 a game. He is shooting 42.1% from 3 point range. Point guard Verdell Jones III leads the team in assists with 3.4 a game and steals with 1.3 a game. He is also second in scoring with 12.2 ppg. Forward Tom Pritchard leads the team in blocks with 1 a game and pulls down 3.5 boards a game. The Hoosiers average 34.4 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +3.9. Indiana averages 14.9 assists and 14.8 turnovers a game. They force 15.7 turnovers a game on defense. Indiana averages 7.5 steals and 3.3 blocks a game.

Minnesota is outscoring opponents 75-68 on the season. The Gophers are shooting 46.3% from the field and 33.9% from 3 point range. The Gophers are holding opponents to 39.4% from the field. Four Gophers average double figures in scoring. Senior Guard Blake Hoffarber leads the team in scoring with 13.6 ppg and assists with 4.6 a game. He is also averaging 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game. Junior forward Trevor Mbakwe is almost averaging a double double with 13.4 ppg and 9.9 rebounds a game. He also averages 1 steal and 1.2 blocks a game. Forward/center Ralph Sampson III averages 11.4 ppg, 5.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and leads the team in blocks with 2 a game. Guard Devoe Joseph missed the first 6 games of the season due to injury but has been averaging 11.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists a game since his return. Guard Al Nolen also missed 4 games due to injury, but is averaging 7.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and he leads the team in steals with 2.3 a game. Minnesota averages 40.6 rebounds a game and has a rebounding margin of +6.3. The Gophers are averaging 16.4 assists and 14.2 turnovers a game. They force 13.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Gophers average 5.4 blocks and 7.9 steals a game.

Minnesota is playing a brutal stretch to start Big Ten play as the play at Ohio St and get Purdue at home the next two games after they play Indiana. This is basically a must win game for the Gophers as they could start off Big Ten play 0-5 if they lose this game tonight. Minnesota has the edge in rebounding. Both teams are similar defensively. The public loves Indiana in this game as the spread has dropped a point from the opener from 10 to 9. Minnesota is -8 1/2 in some places even. Indiana has lost 4 games in a row all to teams that have a chance to go to the NCAA tournament. The Hoosiers are still very young with only 1 senior on the roster. Coach Tom Crean is rebuilding the Hoosiers but they aren’t read to go on the raod and beat a talented Minnesota team.