Best Start Against Last Time Field Goal Attempts

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

Despite playing the majority of the season without leading scorer and rebounder Trevor Mbakwe (14.0 ppg, 9.1 rpg), Minnesota is holding its own in the ultra-competitive Big Ten. The Gophers are averaging 70.2 ppg on typical shooting outputs of 48.1 percent overall and better than 70 percent from the foul line. They are also outworking the opposition on the glass (+3.7) while goading the same into more than 14 turnovers per outing. Rodney Williams (10.7 ppg, 5.8 rpg) and Julian Welch (10.6 ppg, 2.6 apg) are the only two active double-digit scorers for coach Tubby Smith's club, but there are six guys who average at least 6.0 ppg. Defensively, UM allows an average of 62.8 ppg, with foes shooting just 41.0 percent from the field. All five starters scored in double figures, led by freshman Joe Coleman's 16-point effort, as Minnesota blew the doors off Northwestern the last time out, winning by 23. Welch finished with a line of 14 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Gophers, who shot a sizzling 57.7 percent from the floor, despite missing nine of their 12 three-point attempts. The Wildcats were limited to 32.7 percent field goal efficiency, and they lost the battle on the boards by a 40-28 margin.

Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - SEC foes square off in Starkville tonight, as the LSU Tigers come calling on the 18th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. LSU is currently five games over .500 on the year (12-7), but the Tigers have lost three of their five league bouts, the most recent of which occurred this past Saturday at nationally-ranked Florida, 76-64. This game is the second of three in a row LSU will play against Top-25 competition, as next up for the Tigers is this Saturday's home clash with No. 1 Kentucky.

This game marks the 201st meeting all-time between LSU and MSU, with the Tigers clinging to a 104-96 advantage. The Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings, although LSU has been victorious in two of the last three played in Starkville, including last year's 84-82 final.

Dee Bost scored 24 points and Arnett Moultrie logged yet another double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, helping Mississippi State battle back from a 13-point deficit to win in overtime at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Bulldogs nailed 10 three-pointers in the game, five of which belonged to Jalen Steele (15 points), and they outscored the Commodores at the free-throw line, 14-5. MSU shot a dismal 28.6 percent in the opening half, but hit 51.7 percent after the break, and an ultra-efficient 80.0 percent in the extra session to earn the hard-fought win. Moultrie continues to make his claim for SEC Player of the Year consideration as he is producing 16.4 points and 11.2 rebounds per game as one of a handful of guys nationally averaging a double-double on the season. Despite his poor 38.6 percent shooting effort, Bost is also netting 16.4 ppg, and he also serves as the team's primary playmaker with 88 assists (4.4 per tilt). Rodney Hood (11.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and Renardo Sidney (10.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg) round out the double-digit scorers for the Bulldogs, who average 73.7 ppg, own a +3.1 rebounding margin, and allow only 65.3 ppg.

Texas Tech head coach Billy Gillispie had high hopes for his first year in Lubbock, but things haven't gone according to plan as his team is just 7-11 overall and has lost its first six Big 12 bouts -- the first time that has happened since the 1999-2000 campaign. The Red Raiders, who are 6-3 at home this season, haven't tasted victory since winning back-to-back games against Cal State Bakersfield and Southeastern Louisiana to close out the 2011 calendar year.

Despite a rough shooting effort that saw Kansas State hit a mere 36.4 percent of its field goal attempts and only 21.4 percent of its three-point tries, the Wildcats picked up the big win at Oklahoma State over the weekend thanks to a 50-29 rebounding advantage and some pretty stingy defense which allowed the Cowboys to shoot just 34.8 percent from the floor, which included a horrendous 1-of-16 showing from beyond the arc. Rodney McGruder and Angel Rodriguez scored 14 points apiece to lead K-State, which also got a double-double from Jamar Samuels, who tallied 12 points and as many rebounds. Both teams turned the ball over 16 times and scored nearly the same number of points from the foul line (OSU 25, KSU 23), but the 'Cats worked harder on the inside, outscoring the Pokes in the paint, 32-18. Kansas State has now held six opponents this season below 60 points, including two Big 12 foes. McGruder leads the team in scoring with 15.6 ppg, the team as a whole is averaging 74.8 ppg while allowing 64.5 ppg.

Boise, ID (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Off to their best start in two decades, the 12th- ranked UNLV Runnin' Rebels take their act on the road tonight as they challenge the latest addition to the Mountain West Conference, the Boise State Broncos, at Taco Bell Arena. Sure, there have been a few bumps in the road for the Runnin' Rebels this season, such as the 89-70 blowout loss to Wichita State the first week of December, but can anyone really blame them for bowing to Wisconsin and San Diego State, both of which were nationally ranked at the time? Since that 69-67 setback to the Aztecs on the road on January 14, UNLV has bounced back with convincing league victories, the most recent of those being an 80-63 domination of New Mexico at home over the weekend.

As for the Broncos, this is their first season as members of the MWC, coming over from the Western Athletic Conference where they experienced their own share of success. Unfortunately, the transition has not gone all that well in the early going with BSU dropping the first three league bouts on the schedule, which means the Broncos are all alone at the bottom of the MWC standings.

The Rebels have won two of the previous three meetings in the series with Boise State, the most recent of those coming last season at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas by a score of 75-72. The lone win for the Broncos came in the first round of the 2004 NIT, 84-69, in Idaho.

Des Moines, IA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 15th-ranked Creighton Bluejays will try to win their ninth in a row as they head to the Knapp Center for a Missouri Valley Conference clash with the Drake Bulldogs. This will be the 149th meeting in the all-time series. The Bluejays hold a 90-58 edge in the rivalry after winning 16 of the last 24 encounters, including a 76-59 decision in Omaha earlier this month. Creighton shot 60 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc, while Drake made 38.5 percent of its field goals and just 5-of-19 from three-point range in this year's earlier meeting.

The Bluejays are off to a 18-2 start this season after handling Indiana State 75-49 on Saturday. The Bluejays shot 43.6 percent from the floor and connected on 11-of-24 attempts from long range in the contest. Head coach Greg McDermott has his team playing very well both at home and on the road this year. If the Bluejays win tonight, they will have won six-straight road games for the first time in program history since 1975. Creighton is ranked first in the nation in field goal percentage (51.4) and second in assists (19.2). The Bluejays 81.4 ppg on the offensive end is the best in the MVC this year.

comments

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•    tomorrow is the last time I will ever do chemistry again (hopefully).. Someone remind me why I took this fucking course?

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•    35 ppg :)

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•    Get out of bed. Immediately start singing Bohemian Rhapsody while doing morning things. My mind is clearly the best place to be!

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•    Melquan Bolding leads four double-digit scorers for FDU with 15 points. #NEC

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•    Two down, two to go. After shooting games at Northern Iowa and Drake, it's off to Carver Hawkeye tomorrow. One week, four gyms, four teams

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•    I woud wlk to Penn State Rite Now To See My Boo Damah ;)

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•    $20 just to drive thru your state. Not even to philly. #penn

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