The Fort Wayne Mastodons and the Minnesota Golden Gophers meet Friday in college basketball action from Williams Arena. Fort Wayne is 2-0 thus far on the season. The Mastodons are coming off a win over Austin Peay in their last game. As for Minnesota, they’re rolling along at 3-0 on the year. The Gophers took out Princeton in their most recent appearance. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Fort Wayne had a warmup game in their opener versus Earlham. The Mastodons didn’t have any troubles in that one, posting 53 points in the first half on the way to a 103-54 blowout. Jalon Pipkins led the team with his 19 points, two assists and three rebounds.
In game two versus Austin Peay, the Mastodons had to fight a little harder but still came out on top. Fort Wayne managed 36 second-half points on the way to a 65-60 win. Ra Kpedi was tops in that one with 17 points and four boards.
Over on the Minnesota side, they surged to a big win in their opener this year versus UMKC. The Gophers ended up with a 71-56 result to start on a high note. Game two was much tighter, however; Minnesota was outscored 46-38 in the second half versus Western Kentucky but still won 73-69.
In their last matchup on Sunday versus Princeton, Minnesota had their toughest game yet. The Gophers were outscored 29-21 in the second half and had to utilize two overtimes to get an 87-80 win. Payton Willis was the top scorer with 29 points and 10 rebounds.
Minnesota is 10-4 ATS in their last 14 at home and 5-0 ATS in their last five overall. The Gophers are 5-1 ATS in their last six after an ATS win.
Meanwhile, the Mastodons are 4-9 ATS in their last 13 overall and 1-4 ATS in their last five Friday games. The over is 5-2 in IPFW’s last seven road games.
PICK: I’m going to take Minnesota. The Gophers are going to need to put together a complete game here, though. The Princeton game was a major scare; Minnesota was outfoxed in assists 11-6, tied in rebounds 45-45 and had a 14-10 turnover deficit. It wasn’t exactly a dominant effort, but still a win.
As for Fort Wayne, I don’t believe they’ve got the offensive legs to keep up here if the Gophers get going early. I think the Mastodons will hold on initially before fading down the stretch.