Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction, 2/1/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Minnesota Golden Gophers vs Penn State Nittany Lions

Date: Sunday, February 1, 2026

Location: Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, PA

TV: Peacock

The Minnesota Golden Gophers (10-11) are headed to Bryce Jordan Center on Sunday where they will attempt to defeat the Penn State Nittany Lions (9-12).

The Minnesota Golden Gophers stepped onto the hardwood against Wisconsin and took a loss by a score of 67-63 in their last game. When talking about personal fouls, the Golden Gophers ended up with 19 and Wisconsin totaled 12 personal fouls. They also buried 13 out of their 31 attempts from long range. Wisconsin finished the game at 72.7% at the free throw line by burying 16 of 22 tries. Additionally, Wisconsin pulled down 27 rebounds (4 offensive, 23 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. Wisconsin doled out 11 dimes and had 4 steals in this contest. Pertaining to defense, Minnesota allowed the other team to go 39.6% from the floor on 19 out of 48 shooting. They also doled out 12 assists for this contest while forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 8 steals. When it comes to hauling in boards, they earned 28 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. From the charity stripe, the Golden Gophers buried 6 of 11 shots for a rate of 54.5%. Minnesota ended having earned a 46.0% field goal percentage (23 of 50) and converted 11 of their 27 three-point shots.

Bobby Durkin is one player who was a factor in this matchup. He finished with 20 points on 7 out of 8 shooting. He saw the court for 38 mins played and collected 3 rebounds. He ended up going 87.5% from the floor and totaled 2 assists.

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Minnesota heads into this game with a mark of 10-11 so far this season. They turn the ball over 10.9 times per contest and as a team are committing 16.3 fouls per game. As a team, Minnesota is snagging 33.8 boards per contest and has tallied 375 assists on the campaign, which has them ranked 30th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Golden Gophers are connecting on 33.1% on shots from 3-point land (169 of 511) and 68.9% from the charity stripe. They average 71.6 pts per game (293rd in the country) while shooting 45.2% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Golden Gophers are forcing their opponents into 11.4 turnovers per game and they draw 18.5 fouls. They surrender 34.1% on 3-point attempts while they are 56th in the country in PPG allowed (68.4). The Golden Gophers are giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 42.6% (501 of 1,177) and they surrender 33.1 rebounds per game as a group. They are currently ranked 214th in college in allowing assists to the opposition with 291 surrendered so far this year.

When they last played, the Penn State Nittany Lions took a loss by a final score of 94-73 when they faced Northwestern. The Nittany Lions corralled 16 defensive boards and 2 offensive boards totaling 18 in this game. They turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 5 steals for this game. Northwestern had 16 fouls for the game which got the Nittany Lions to the free throw line for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to make 17 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 85.0%. With respect to shooting from distance, Penn State buried 6 out of their 18 tries (33.3%). When this game wrapped up, the Nittany Lions shot 25 for 51 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 49.0%. The Nittany Lions permitted Northwestern to make 38 of their 63 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 60.3% for the contest. They shot 54.5% from 3-point land by going 12 out of 22 and ended up shooting 6 of 9 from the free throw line (66.7%). In regard to attacking the glass, Penn State permitted Northwestern to collect 32 overall (7 on the offensive side).

Kayden Mingo pitched in for the Nittany Lions in this game. He totaled 15 points in his 28 minutes on the court and accounted for 4 assists in this matchup. He buried 4 of 9 in this matchup for a rate of 44.4%, and accounted for 2 rebounds.

Penn State has a mark of 9-12 this year. The Nittany Lions commit 15.4 fouls per contest while shooting 74.7% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 13.5 times per contest (227th in the country) and they are giving up possession 9.6 times per contest. Penn State has accounted for 1,605 points for the year (76.4 per contest) and they collect 30.2 boards per game. On the offensive side of the ball, the Nittany Lions are connecting on 46.9% from the field, which has them ranked 93rd in the country.

The Penn State defense surrenders 38.4% on shots from beyond the arc (206 of 537) and opponents are making 76.0% of their free throw attempts. They have allowed 16.7 assists and 33.3 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 343rd and 103rd in college hoops. The Nittany Lions are ranked 300th in college in PPG surrendered with 78.5. They are forcing their opponents into 12.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 49.4% from the floor (357th in D-1).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Penn State

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