The Minnesota Golden Gophers will travel to West Lafayette, Indiana to face the 2^nd-ranked Purdue Boilermakers at the Mackey Arena with the game tipping off at 8:30 PM ET on Thursday night and will air on the Big Ten Network.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers are in 6^th place in the Big Ten Conference with an overall record of 15-8 and a Big Ten record of 6-6 in conference play, however, Minnesota is coming off an 85-90 loss on the road against the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday which also ended their three-game winning streak. 

Offensively, the Golden Gophers have been above average as they are averaging 76.09 points per game which is above the national average of 73.96 points per game. Defensively, Minnesota has also been above average as they are allowing an average of 68.61 points per game. Dawson Garcia has played a pivotal role in the success Minnesota has had this season as he leads the team in scoring and rebounds with an average of 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. 

The Minnesota Golden Gophers will look to bounce back following the loss against the Hawkeyes when they travel to face the Purdue Boilermakers.

The Purdue Boilermakers enter this game ranked 2^nd in the AP Poll and 2^nd in the Coaches Poll with an overall record of 22-2 and are in 1^st place in the Big Ten Conference with a record of 11-2 in conference play and are on an eight-game winning streak following Saturday’s 79-59 win at home against the Indiana Hoosiers. 

The success of the Boilermakers this season can be attributed to their offensive play as they are averaging the 5^th most points per game in college basketball with an average of 85.08 points per game. Zach Edey is one of the best players in college basketball and has played a pivotal role in the success Purdue has had this season as he leads the team in scoring, rebounds, and blocks with an average of 23.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game. 

Defensively, Purdue has also been above average as they are allowing an average of 69.54 points per game. The Purdue Boilermaker will look to extend their winning streak to nine games when they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday night.

BookMaker has the Purdue Boilermakers listed as 16-point favorites at home against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Thursday night. Purdue has won seven of the last ten including the previous three matchups. The Golden Gophers are 5-4-1 ATS in the last ten while the Boilermakers have covered the spread in two of the previous three games in the series. The Minnesota Golden Gophers are 20-3 ATS overall, 5-1 ATS on the road, 10-2 ATS as an underdog, and 10-2 ATS in conference games this season while the Purdue Boilermakers are 14-8-2 ATS overall, 6-5-1 ATS at home, 13-8-2 ATS as a favorite, and 7-6 ATS in conference games on the year.

Purdue is one of the best teams in college basketball this season while Minnesota is in 6^th place in the Big Ten conference. The Boilermakers have been the better team in the series, winning seven of the last ten including the last three matchups. However, Minnesota has been one of the best teams at covering the spread this season with a record of 20-3 ATS overall and 10-2 ATS in conference games while the Boilermakers are 14-8-2 ATS overall and 7-6 ATS in conference games. As a result, I am taking the points with the Minnesota Golden Gophers when they travel to face the Purdue Boilermakers on Thursday night.