NCAAB Thursday February 11th Purdue at Minnesota Betting Preview

It’s an earlier start for the February 11th Purdue at Minnesota matchup with a 5:00 PM ET tip off (ESPN2), but what a way to kick off a nice night of sports. The Golden Gophers are 12-1 at home on the season, but Purdue has climbed up to #24 in the country.

The Golden Gophers are -3 point favorites on Wednesday, thanks large to winning 12 of 13 at Williams Arena this season. Minnesota has lost three of their last four though, one of those an 81-62 defeat in Purdue as +2.5 underdogs. The Boilers are now 5-2 over the last 7 in this series.

Purdue Staying In It

The Big Ten is stacked this season, but Purdue is doing there best to stay near the top of the ladder. The Boilermakers are one of 7 ranked teams in the conference, but Minnesota received votes last week too despite a recent skid.

Purdue survived vs. Northwestern at home on Saturday, edging out a 75-70 win but as -8 point favorites. It was a nice bounce back after falling 61-60 at Maryland the game prior. Those are the two games the Boilermakers have played since dismantling Minnesota 81-62 on January 30th.

With Matt Painter’s team getting such a big win over the Golden Gophers last time out, they would seem like a great play in the February 11th Purdue at Minnesota pick. The previous meeting wasn’t as easy as it looked though. Minnesota led by as much as 14 points in that game, but couldn’t withstand Purdue shooting 8-10 from three point range in a 51-27 second half advantage.

Can Golden Gophers Continue Home Dominance?

Minnesota has been great on their own floor this year with a 12-1 record, but they’re also not invincible in the Twin Cities after a 49-63 loss at Williams Arena to Maryland on January 23rd. Their only home game since then was a 79-61 win over a bad Nebraska team as -11.5 favorites.

The Golden Gophers lost at home to the Terrapins despite 25 points from Marcus Carr, but Purdue did a number on him in the first meeting, holding him to 2-13 shooting and just 6 points. Minnesota’s 2nd leading scorer is 7-footer Liam Robbins, a big body that is key in trying to shut down Purdue’s 6′-10, 265 pound Trevion Williams.

Williams did have 17 points and 14 rebounds in the first meeting, but was held to 8 points and 3 rebounds while battling foul trouble against Northwestern. The only problem with that is Purdue brings in 7’3″ Zach Edey, who had 12 and 11 vs. the Wildcats. Sasha Stefanovic is also expected back for the Boilermakers, as his minutes were limited vs. Northwestern in a return from COVID quarantine.

Free February 11th Purdue at Minnesota Pick

A slight 54% of the public likes the Golden Gophers in this one, and Minnesota did play good enough to build up a 14-point lead in the first meeting between these two.

While the Golden Gophers are good at home, they can be gotten to as Maryland proved four games ago. Painter had a great game plan to stop Carr in the first meeting, and Purdue has a force on the inside with Williams and Edey, who is quickly gaining confidence.
Minnesota 67 – Purdue 71

Free Pick: Purdue +2.5