The Indiana Hoosiers have not gotten off to a great start under first-year head coach Archie Miller. It takes time to build a program the way you want it, but the early results from Miller have not been good. The Hoosiers did get a nice win over Notre Dame, however, they also lost to in-state minnows like Indiana State and Fort Wayne. Indiana is currently at 8-7 and looking to stay above .500. That will be a tall task when it travels to face the Minnesota Golden Gophers this week.
This war on the floor will go down Saturday, January 6, 2018, at 5:15 p.m. ET at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The game will be televised live on ESPN2. We'll have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the college basketball Saturday schedule.
Opening College Basketball Odds at BookMaker.eu
Minnesota might be the best team in the Big Ten not named Michigan State. The Golden Gophers have been really something this season. They are sitting at 13-3 with a few quality wins on their resume.
This hasn’t been the best team to bet on though. The Golden Gophers have failed to cover in five of their last seven and have seen their offensive numbers take a dip in recent weeks. Five of their last seven have also gone under the total.
Indiana has yet to cover a road game this season. The Hoosiers are 0-4 ATS away from home and their closest loss was by nine points at the hands of Louisville about a month ago.
Under has been a great bet in Indiana games recently. Six of the Hoosiers last eight games have ended up short of the total.
Key Loss
It seems like Reggie Lynch will not be available for the rest of the season for Minnesota. Lynch was last year’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, but word broke late Thursday night that he faces an indefinite suspension.
The university ruled that Lynch violated its sexual misconduct policy and as such he is ineligible to participate in athletics for the school.
It’s a substantial loss for the Golden Gophers, who have seen their defense carry the day for the team in recent weeks. Additionally, Lynch was a double-double threat every night. He was averaging 10 points and eight rebounds per game and was an efficient scorer as well.
Key Stats
There’s no easy way to say it. Indiana’s guards have not been good this season. Nowhere is this more apparent than how the team shoots and defends the three.
The Hoosiers rank outside of the top 300 in terms of shooting the triple. They are hitting just 30.5 percent of their threes on the season, and this team doesn’t have a reliable shooter from distance. That’s a problem when you are trying to knock off quality teams on the road.
Additionally, Indiana has not been able to defend the three well. The Hoosiers are allowing teams to hit 38.4 percent of their triples this year. Indiana State and Fort Wayne both upset Indiana by sinking threes, and the Hoosiers have not gotten better in this area.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Jordan Murphy might have a big game for Minnesota in this one. Murphy is averaging a double-double this season and has taken his low-post game to new heights. After seeing what Ethan Happ did against the Hoosiers earlier in the week, a 20-15 from Murphy seems very much within reach.
Without Lynch to help patrol the boards, I expect Indiana to get the cover. Murphy is going to have a big game and help Minnesota get the win, but the line will be a little inflated by Indiana’s poor road results this year. That will help the Hoosiers stay within single digits of the Golden Gophers.
College Basketball Odds: Minnesota 77, Indiana 69
BookMaker.eu offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker.eu!
