Minnesota at Penn State

Minnesota can play any style under head coach Tubby Smith, while Penn State likes to slow it down to a crawl. Minnesota has led the Big Ten Conference in blocked shots during the last three seasons and the Gophers lost their leading scorer (14.0) and rebounder (9.1) in Trevor Mbakwe to a knee injury seven games into the season. They lead the Big Ten blocking at 5.8 shots while grabbing 8.7 steals per game. The UNDER is 5-2-1 in the Golden Gophers last eight games as a favorite as well as 7-4 UNDER the total their last 11 games overall. Conference play means more and defenses often rises up, and note that the Nittany Lions swept the season series last year, holding Minnesota to 63 points each time. The UNDER is 6-2 in the Nittany Lions’ last eight games as a home underdog and 11-4 UNDER the total in their last 15 games as a home underdog of +0.5 to +6.5. Look for a fierce, slow defensive battle again. Play this one UNDER the total.