2/11 Big Ten Preview: Purdue Travels to Minnesota

There’s only one game tonight with Purdue heading west to face Minnesota.

Game of the Night

#24 Purdue Boilermakers at Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Time/TV: 5:00 PM ET ESPN2

In the only game tonight Purdue will look to sweep the series against Minnesota. The last time these two teams played the Boilers shot 53.5% from three, shut down Marcus Carr (2 of 13 shooting, 6 points in 38 minutes) and won easily 81-62. Now they must face Minnesota on the road.

The Boilermakers climbed into the rankings after a 5-1 run stretch that included the 19 point win over a ranked Minnesota. While they lost to Maryland, a home win against Northwestern kept them in the polls. Minnesota ended a three game losing streak with a win over bottom dwelling Nebraska and will hope to get a solid win over Purdue before two road trips to Maryland and Indiana over the next week.

Purdue is extremely young so there have been some growing pains with inconsistency. Trevion Williams has been an anchor inside, while Sasha Stefanovic has been one of the leagues best three point shooters. The emergence of guys like Brandon Newman, Jaden Ivey and Zach Edey have helped Purdue surpass expectations this season, though their youth does bring some inconsistency. Nonetheless, when any of them get going it’s a huge boost for Purdue’s odds of winning.

The Gophers are a pretty straight forward team, led by star guard Marcus Carr and center Liam Robbins. The remaining backcourt has been inconsistent and the Gophers aren’t a particularly great three point shooting team. When Purdue managed to shut down Carr last time out that was about all she wrote for the Gophers and if Purdue can manage to do the same they’ll have no issue winning again today.

Purdue has been playing better as of late and probably has the more rounded team, but with the game taking place in Minnesota and Purdue’s reliance on freshmen, the Gophers should find a way to add another big win to their resume.

Pick: Minnesota