16th-ranked Minnesota is favored in college basketball betting on Wednesday as they host Northwestern.
The Golden Gophers are 15-4 overall and 4-3 in the Big 10 while Northwestern is 13-6 and 3-5 in the Big 10. The Gophers are favored in college basketball lines at Sbg global but there is cause for concern if you are taking Minnesota.
Starting Guard Injured
The Gophers have lost starting point guard Al Nolen, probably for the rest of the season. Nolen has a broken foot and will have to undergo surgery. Minnesota won against Michigan on Saturday but in the process they lost Nolan who is averaging 8.4 points, 3.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Nolen missed five games earlier this season with a stress fracture but he obviously was not totally healed. Nolen should have had surgery when the fracture was first discovered and his absence could cost Minnesota an NCAA tournament berth. Minnesota went 4-1 without Nolen but they had a good substitute in Devoe Joseph. That option is gone as Joseph decided to transfer. It will now be up to freshmen Maverick Ahanmisi and Chip Armelin. Good luck at winning consistently without a good point guard. It just doesn’t happen. Minnesota can still beat Northwestern and cover the college basketball lines but the Gophers are not going to challenge Ohio State or Purdue at the top of the conference. The Gophers are going to probably start Blake Hoffarber at point guard but he is not a true point guard and it weakens the entire team. Minnesota will be looking to win their fourth straight Big 10 game on Wednesday.
Wildcats Get Leading Scorer Back
Northwestern got leading scorer John Shurna back on Sunday but it didn’t matter as they were blown out by Wisconsin. Shurna had missed the previous game and it appeared he was rusty. Last season, Shurna averaged 20.5 points against Minnesota. Each team won at home in their meetings last year.
Game Notes
You can watch this game between Northwestern and Minnesota on the Big 10 Network. The Wildcats are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games overall. The Golden Gophers are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games overall. The home team in this series is 4-1 in college basketball betting in the last 5 meetings.