Minnesota looks to pull off major upset of Purdue on Thursday
The Minnesota men’s basketball team will look to get back in the win column on Thursday night by taking on the nation’s No.3 team, the Purdue Boilermakers.
The Gophers (7-9, 1-5) on the season are coming off a 78-60 blowout loss to Illinois on Monday night after upsetting Ohio State last Thursday in Columbus 70-67.
Entering Thursday night, the Gophers are 13.5 point underdogs to the Boilermakers who are 17-1 this season and have won four straight after losing to Rutgers to start the new calendar year.
The Boilermakers have simply fantastic on both ends of the court this season, averaging just over 75 points per game offensively while allowing just a mere 61.2 points.
Their led on both ends by junior center Zach Edey, one of the favorites to be the John Wooden Player of the Year. The 7-foot-4 native of Ontario (CN) is averaging 21.9 points and 13.4 rebounds per game this season. He’s recorded double-doubles in 10 straight games and 17 of 18 games overall this season.
When it’s not Edey punishing teams offensively, it’s freshman guard Fletcher Loyer. The Fort Wayne (IN) native is averaging 13.4 points per game this season, the second most of any Boilermaker.
That being said, it’s still a complete team effort for Purdue with five other players averaging more than five points per game.
For the Gophers, they’ll have to pull off the upset without freshman guard Braeden Carrington. The Brooklyn Park (MN) product has averaged just over six points per game this season but will miss the next four weeks with a stress reaction injury in his right leg.
For a team that has seen limited production off the bench this season, they’ll need some deeper rotational players to step up including fellow freshman guard Jayden Henley. Henley has been averaging just 3.9 points per over an average of 17 minutes a game.
They’ll also need to hope none of their top three scorers F Dawson Garcia (15.6), F Jamison Battle (12.9), or G Ta’Lon Cooper (11.0) have off nights. The three combine for over 60% of the Gophers offense on a nightly basis. Any one of those three having a down night would put the Gophers in a severe hole.
Gophers looking for first win over top-3 team since 2019..
If the Gophers can pull off the win tonight, it will be their first time doing since 2019 when they defeated the then No.3 Ohio State Buckeyes, 84-71.
However, the Gophers are still looking for their first win on the road against a AP Top-3 team. According to CBB Reference, the Gophers are 0-10 all time dating back to 1949-50 when facing a top-3 team on the road. It will be their first opportunity to do so since February 13, 2018, an 87-57 loss to Michigan State.
Prediction: Purdue 85 - Minnesota 65
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