Live Coverage: Penn State basketball vs Minnesota
Penn State Nittany Lions basketball looks to snap a skid of five losses in six games on the road against the struggling Golden Gophers.
Follow along inside the Lions Den as reporters David Eckert and Nate Bauer provide their analysis on the game.
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Penn State vs Minnesota: Scouting the Gophers
Minnesota comes into this game at 11-10 overall and 2-10 in conference play.
In their first season under new head coach Ben Johnson, the Gophers have lost nine of their last 10 games, including a 13-point defeat on Wednesday against a Nebraska team that was previously winless in Big Ten play.
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Minnesota is 1-5 at home in the Big Ten, getting its lone win over Rutgers.
KenPom ranks Minnesota’s offense at No. 98 in the country as of Friday morning, with its defensive efficiency following at No. 133. Overall, the Gophers sit at No. 103 in KenPom’s ratings, while Penn State is ranked 82nd.
The duo of Payton Willis and Jamison Battle provides the scoring punch for the Gophers. Willis averages 16.5 points per game, edged slightly by Battle at 17.2.
Minnesota shoots the three-ball effectively, with a 36.2 percent conversion rate from deep that ranks 59th in the country.
