Preview: Gophers looking to avoid letdown at home against Penn State

Minnesota is favored to pick up its third straight win on Saturday afternoon.

Feb 4, 2025; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Ben Johnson reacts from the bench during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryce Jordan Center. Penn State 69-61. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images / Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

The red-hot Gophers will welcome Penn State to the Barn on Saturday as they look to extend their winning streak to three. The Nittany Lions are currently last in the Big Ten, but it's a game that Minnesota cannot overlook.

After Minnesota took down the Nittany Lions by eight points in their building earlier this season, Penn State will be looking for revenge on Saturday. After starting 12-2 under second-year head coach Mike Rhoades, Penn State has lost 11 of its last 13 games. A 17-point win against Nebraska on Wednesday could bring some confidence to the matchup with the Gophers.

Led by reigning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ace Bladwin Jr., Penn State's performance against the Cornhuskers proved they're still a dangerous team. KenPom.com still rates them as a top--75 team in the country. They rank 60th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 96th in adjusted defensive efficiency.

In the Feb. 4th matchup, Penn State was without its starting big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who's averaging the second-most points on the team at 12.4 per game. Minnesota took advantage, out-rebounding the Nittany Lions 35-30 and out-scoring them 40-28 in the paint.

Prediction

I expect this game to be another tightly contested affair at the Barn. Penn State is looking to pull themselves out of the bottom three of the Big Ten standings and this is a game they would need in order to do so.

Getting Konan Niederhauser back into the lineup will have a big impact on this result. It might be a game that Minnesota needs Frank Mitchell to play a big role in the paint against Penn State's seven-foot junior. We saw the Gophers struggle at home against a similar Washington team earlier this month.

Mitchell, Parker Fox and even Trey Edmonds could be the X-factors in this game. If the Gophers are able to get some good minutes at the frontcourt position alongside Dawson Garcia, I think they'll be able to hold their own in the paint and sneak out a very important win.

Score: Minnesota 71, Penn State 68

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