Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota Golden Gophers Prediction, 1/6/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Iowa Hawkeyes vs Minnesota Golden Gophers

Date: Tuesday, January 6, 2026

Location: Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN

TV: ESPN+

The Iowa Hawkeyes (12-2) are hitting the road to Williams Arena on Tuesday where they will try to beat the Minnesota Golden Gophers (9-5).

The Iowa Hawkeyes played UCLA and notched a win by a score of 74-61 in their last game. When discussing personal fouls, the Hawkeyes ended up with 17 and UCLA racked up 23 personal fouls. They knocked down 3 out of their 14 attempts from long range. UCLA ended up going 66.7% at the charity stripe by making 8 of 12 shots. Additionally, UCLA grabbed 24 rebounds (9 offensive, 15 defensive), but couldn't earn a rejection. UCLA dished out 13 assists and had 11 steals for this contest. With respect to the defense, Iowa allowed 44.6% from the floor on 25 of 56 shooting. They also distributed 11 dimes in the matchup while forcing the opposition into 12 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In regard to rebounding, they compiled 30 with 11 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Hawkeyes knocked down 22 of 26 tries for a percentage of 84.6%. Iowa ended the contest having earned a 46.8% field goal percentage (22 of 47) and buried 8 of 26 3-point attempts.

Bennett Stirtz is one player who came through in the game. He ended up shooting 80.0% from the field and also earned 5 assists. He played for 34 minutes played and grabbed 4 boards. He ended up with 27 points on 8 out of 10 shooting.

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Iowa heads into this game with a record of 12-2 for the year. They currently have an average of 80.7 pts per contest (112th in the nation) while connecting on 52.9% from the floor. The Hawkeyes are connecting on 38.4% on shots from beyond the arc (113 of 294) and 75.6% from the free throw line. As a team, Iowa is grabbing 31.1 boards per game and has accounted for 239 dimes this season, which has them ranked 97th in the nation in terms of passing the rock. They are turning it over 10.1 times per game and as a group they commit 18.2 personal fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Hawkeyes have forced 15.4 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 19.4 fouls. They surrender 30.3% on three-point shots and they rank 4th in the country in points per game allowed (60.1). The Hawkeyes defense is allowing a shooting percentage of 42.4% (294 of 694) and they concede 27.6 boards per contest as a team. They currently rank 12th in college in giving up assists with 137 relinquished this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Minnesota Golden Gophers got the victory with a final of 84-78 when they played Northwestern. The Golden Gophers were able to snag 23 defensive boards and 5 offensive boards totaling 28 for the matchup. They coughed up the ball 9 times, while earning 2 steals in the matchup. Northwestern was called for 20 fouls in this game which got the Golden Gophers to the free throw line for 26 shots. They were able to bury 22 of the free throw tries for a rate of 84.6%. In the matter of 3-point attempts, Minnesota knocked down 6 of 18 attempts (33.3%). Overall, the Golden Gophers shot 28 out of 51 from the floor which had them shooting 54.9%. The Golden Gophers allowed Northwestern to knock down 28 out of 57 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.1% for this game. They wrapped up this game 26.1% from behind the 3-point line by going 6 out of 23 and finished the contest at 16 out of 20 from the free throw line (80.0%). In relation to rebounds, Minnesota allowed Northwestern to snag 19 in all (5 offensive).

Cade Tyson ended up being a factor for the Golden Gophers in the matchup. He scored 24 points in his 40 mins of playing time and added 6 dimes for the game. He converted 6 out of 13 in the matchup for a field goal percentage of 46.2%, and had 5 rebounds.

Minnesota has a win-loss record of 9-5 so far this season. The Golden Gophers commit 16.4 fouls per game and they hit 69.0% from the free throw line. They are getting an assist 18.6 times per contest (21st in the country) and they are turning it over 11.6 times per contest. Minnesota has 1,029 points on the season (73.5 per contest) and they average 35.6 rebounds per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Golden Gophers are hitting on 46.4% from the field, which ranks 135th in the country.

The Golden Gophers on the defensive end are ranked 32nd in the nation in PPG given up with 65.7. They are forcing their opponents into 11.6 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.0% from the field (107th in D-1). The Minnesota defense gives up 33.6% on three-point shots (100 of 298) and their opponents are making 69.0% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 13.0 dimes and 30.6 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 162nd and 30th in D-1.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Minnesota

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