11/24 Big Ten Preview: Minnesota Looks to Reach .500

There are two games tonight with Iowa and Minnesota both hosting cupcakes later in the day.

Game of the Day

North Dakota Fighting Hawks at Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Time/TV: 7:00 PM ET (BTN)
• Spread: Minnesota -18

The Gophers will look to even out their record with a win tonight against North Dakota. Things are about to get tougher for the Gophers, with a five game stretch including DePaul, Clemson, Iowa, Ohio State and Oklahoma State on deck. North Dakota is 1-3 after losing three in a row to Gonzaga, Valpo and Milwaukee.

Last time out the Gophers starting backcourt combined for 52 points and center Daniel Oturu cleaned up inside with 9 points and 12 rebounds. Oturu has shown to be a force inside so if Minnesota can get solid production from their backcourt they will be in considerably better shape. Against Central Michigan they shot 14 of 30 from three and if not for 16 turnovers they could have won by even more than 25 points.

North Dakota hasn’t exactly been great on offense, shooting 43% from the field and committing more than 16 turnovers per game. Against a Minnesota team with a strong inside presence and a solid backcourt, poor shooting and turnovers will (obviously) be detrimental.

Look for Minnesota to continue where they left off against Central Michigan.

Pick: Minnesota

The Rest

Cal Poly Mustangs at Iowa Hawkeyes

• Time/TV: 5:00 PM ET (BTN)
• Spread: Iowa -22.5

The Iowa offense has been impressive through four games and the Hawkeyes will look to continue their offensive output against Cal Poly this evening. Throughout their first four games Iowa has scored at least 78 points in every game and will face a Cal Poly team that just gave up to 86 against Creighton.

In their last outing Luka Garza flashed with 29 points and 12 rebounds and will most luckily have his way against an even worse Cal Poly team. The Hawkeyes have gotten even contributions from most of their roster, with six different plays averaging 6.5-8.5 points per game. Guard Joe Wieskamp is the only other Hawkeye averaging double figures with 11.3 points per game.

Cal Poly is a pretty good three point shooting team, making 45.3% of their attempts from beyond the arc. With the Mustangs set to face an explosive Iowa team that will be a plus. That’s about it, though, as Cal Poly is considerably overmatched basically everywhere else.

Iowa should have no problem hitting 80+ once again and will roll later today.

Pick: Iowa