In the Big Ten Conference opener for both teams, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will travel to Columbus, Ohio to face the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena on Sunday evening with the game scheduled to start at 6:30 PM ET and will air on the Big Ten Network.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers enter this game with a record of 5-2, however, they have lost their lone matchup against a team from the Power-5 with a 68-70 loss at home against the Missouri Tigers while their other loss came on the road against the San Francisco Dons by a score of 58-76. Minnesota has been one of the higher-scoring teams in college basketball this season as they enter this game averaging 79.71 points per game which is above the 74.85 national average in college basketball. Dawson Garcia has been one of the best players for Minnesota this season as he enters this game leading the team in scoring and rebounds with an average of 18.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The Golden Gophers will look to build on the momentum from their 97-64 win at home against the New Orleans Privateers when they travel to face the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Ohio State enters this game with a record of 6-1 and is on a five-game winning streak following an 88-61 win at home against the Central Michigan Chippewas on Wednesday. The lone loss for the Buckeyes came at home against the Texas A&M Aggies by a score of 66-73, however, they had an impressive win over the 23^rd-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide by a score of 92-81. The Buckeyes have been an above-average scoring team and have played above-average defensively this season as they enter this game averaging 80.67 points per game while allowing an average of 66.67 points per game. The Ohio State Buckeyes will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday evening.

BookMaker has the Ohio State Buckeyes listed as 13-point favorites at home against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Sunday evening. Ohio State has won six of the last ten and two of the last three meetings. Both teams are 5-5 ATS in the last ten while the Buckeyes are 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 6-1 ATS overall and 1-1 ATS as an underdog this season while the Ohio State Buckeyes are 3-3-1 ATS overall, 1-3-1 ATS at home and 2-3-1 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Ohio State enters this game with a better record at 6-1 while Minnesota is 5-2 this season. However, the Golden Gophers have been one of the best teams at covering the spread this season as they are 6-1 ATS overall while the Buckeyes are 3-3-1 ATS overall but are only 1-3-1 ATS at home. I look for those trends to continue which is why I am taking the points with the Minnesota Golden Gophers when they travel to face the Ohio State Buckeyes in the Big Ten matchup on Sunday evening.