Minnesota and Oklahoma State Look to Keep Good Starts Going
The Oklahoma State Cowboys and the Minnesota Golden Gophers will battle on Friday at U.S. Bank Stadium. The game is part of the first basketball event at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings. The matchup is one of four games involving small colleges and mid-majors as the new venue prepares to play host to the 2019 Final Four. TV: 10 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network LINE: Minnesota -4; O/U: 141. The teams haven’t met since 2015, and both have played well during the first month of the season. The Gophers started 5-0 and had victories over Utah, Texas A&M and Washington. They then suffered a 68-56 loss Monday night at Boston College in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. All-Big Ten forward Jordan Murphy is leading the Golden Gophers with averages of 14.3 points, 12.2 rebounds and 3.7 assists. He paced Minnesota in the loss to Boston College. Murphy had 16 points and 11 rebounds. He helped the Gophers take an early second-half lead before the Eagles scored 18 of the next 23 points to pull ahead. Amir Coffey is right behind Murphy at 14.0 points per game. Gabe Kalscheur is next at 13.5 and Daniel Oturu is pulling down 6.8 rebounds per game. Kalscheur was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week. He helped the Gophers win the TCL Vancouver Showcase championship by averaging 14.0 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals in three wins last week. He scored a career-high 25 points in a victory over Santa Clara. Oklahoma State had a 90-77 victory over then-No. 21 LSU on Sunday in the third-place game of the Advocare Invitational in Orlando, Fla. They got to that point by beating Memphis and losing to Villanova in the tournament. The Cowboys are 4-2 on the young season. Cameron McGriff scored a career-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting in the upset of LSU. He had a double-double against Memphis with 11 points and 12 rebounds. McGriff was named to the AdvoCare Invitational all-tournament team. The junior captain leads the team in scoring with 16.8 points per game and rebounding with 7.0 rpg. Yor Anei blocked six shots against Memphis. It was the most in tournament history and the most by a Oklahoma State freshman. Anei is tied for second in the Big 12 with 2.5 blocked shots per game. His 15 blocks are half the team’s total. G Thomas Dziagwa’s 59.5 percent 3-point shooting ranks eighth nationally. His 3.67 makes per game is tied for 23rd in the country. His career 42.4 3-point accuracy ranks 28th among active players. PREDICTION: Minnesota 74, Oklahoma State 68
College Basketball Betting Odds & Trends
Oklahoma State Cowboys: Team record: 4-2 SU,4-2 ATS Oklahoma State is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games Oklahoma State is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oklahoma State’s last 6 games Minnesota Golden Gophers: Team record: 5-1 SU,3-3 ATS Minnesota is 6-16 ATS in its last 22 games Minnesota is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games Minnesota is 7-15 SU in its last 22 games Next up: Oklahoma State at Tulsa Wednesday, December 5 Minnesota at Ohio State Sunday, December 2 Get a 50% Bonus up to $1,000 at A-Rated Sportsbetting Online Sportsbook