Minnesota vs Rutgers 1/22/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights will travel to Williams Arena to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers this Saturday afternoon in College Basketball action.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights won their 2^nd straight game and improved to 11-6 on the season after defeating the Iowa Hawkeyes, 48-46, this past Wednesday. Rutgers was lights out defensively against the high-scoring Iowa offense and was able to pull off the victory after Ron Harper Jr. hit a pair of game-winning FT’s with just :02 seconds left in regulation. Rutgers shot 31.0% from the field & 15.4% from beyond the arc while holding Iowa to 27.9% shooting from the field & 22.2% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Scarlet Knights was Ron Harper Jr. who had 15 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, & 1 steal.

On the season, Rutgers is averaging 67.8 ppg on 42.8% shooting from the field. The Scarlet Knights are averaging 6.1 three-pointers per game on 33.4% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Rutgers has been led by Ron Harper Jr. (16.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 spg), Clifford Omoruyi (11.1 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 1.0 bpg), Geo Baker (10.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.0 spg), & Paul Mulcahy (7.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.2 spg).

Defensviely, Rutgers is holding their opponents to an average of 63.9 ppg on 40.0% shooting from the field. The Scarlet Knights have a rebound margin of 2.9 and a turnover margin of 0.4.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers lost their 4^th straight game and dropped to 10-5 on the season after being defeated by the Iowa Hawkeyes, 81-71, this past Sunday.  Minnesota struggled on both ends of the court in the 1^st half against Iowa and could not fight all the way back after going into halftime trailing by a 43-27 margin. Minnesota shot 50.9% from the field & 37.5% from beyond the arc while allowing Iowa to shoot 48.5% from the field & 22.7% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Golden Gophers was Jamison Battle who had 20 points, 8 rebounds, & 2 assists.

On the season, Minnesota is averaging 69.7 ppg on 45.4% shooting from the field. The Golden Gophers are averaging 6.9 three-pointers per game on 34.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Minnesota has been led by Jamison Battle (18.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg), Payton Willis (15.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.8 spg), E.J. Stephens (12.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.4 spg), & Eric Curry (8.7 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 1.6 apg).

Defensviely, Minnesota is allowing their opponents to average 66.3 ppg on 43.0% shooting from the field. The Golden Gophers have a rebound margin of -5.5 and a turnover margin of 1.8.

The Scarlet Knights are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 games & 4-2 ATS in their last 6 games vs. Minnesota. The Golden Gophers are just 1-5 ATS in their last 6 games & 0-5 ATS in their last 5 home games.

Rutgers has been led by their defense which ranks 63^rd in scoring defense & 45^th in defensive FG%, however, the Scarlet Knights have struggled offensively and come into this game ranked just 271^st in scoring offense 7 243^rd in FG%. Minnesota has also been led by their defense which ranks 110^th in scoring defense & 92^nd in turnover margin, however, the offense can struggle as despite ranking 122^nd in FG% & 153^rd in 3P-FG%, the Golden Gophers rank just 231^st in scoring offense.

Rutgers comes into this game with a bunch of momentum as the Scarlet Knights have won 6 of their last 7 games, however, this is still a team that is just 1-5 on the road and can really struggled offensively as we saw them put up just 49 points in a recent loss at Penn State. Minnesota is a better team than what we’ve seen as of late and as I think their defense will give Rutgers trouble in what is a tough road environment, I think the play here is to take Minnesota to cover this small home spread. Good Luck!