The Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-6) will host the Arkansas Pine Bluff Golden Lions (3-8) on Wednesday night.
Pine Bluff is no stranger to going on the road to a Power 6 school, already facing TCU, Oklahoma, Mississippi State, Nebraska, and Texas in the young season. They lost those games by an average of 22.4 points but kept it close at TCU in a one-point game.
Redshirt senior Shaun Doss leads the team with 17.1 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Doss was an All-SWAC honoree two seasons ago before transferring to SIU-Edwardsville but returned to Arkansas for his final season. Cleveland State transfer Chris Greene is the only Golden Lion other than Doss in double-figures, averaging 11.5 points on 44% from the field.
Minnesota vs. AR-Pine Bluff Betting Odds
All Lines Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook
Minnesota has lost five straight games and needs to right the ship quickly before conference play. They were most recently pounded 69-51 at home by Mississippi State. The Golden Gophers use a bevy of transfers in their rotation, led by former North Carolina Tar Heel and former top prospect Dawson Garcia. Morehead State transfer Ta'Lon Cooper and A-10 All-American Jamison Battle join him in double-digit scoring for the season.
ShotQuality Tale of the Tape
Below, we will highlight essential ShotQuality data for this matchup, including Adjusted Offensive and Defensive SQ, strengths, weaknesses, and frequency. SQppp is a player's average ShotQuality points per possession.
Thus, SQppp = Total SQpoints/Total No. of Possessions
AR-Pine Bluff
Offensive Key Stats (inside top 100 or outside top 200)
AdjOFF SQ = 0.92 (335th)
Spacing = 30th (247th)
Rim and 3 Rate = 83.7% (274th)
Shot Making = 4th Percentile (348th)
Free Throw Rate (FTR) = 21.1% (353rd)
Shot Selection = 3rd Percentile (355th)
Rim and 3 SQ PPP = 0.97 (359th)
Offensive Shot Type: SQ PPP (Strengths & Weaknesses w/top 175 Frequency)
Transition = 1.18 (321st)
Off the Dribble 3PT = 0.92 (333rd)
Catch & Shoot 3PT = 0.97 (334th)
Midrange = 0.71 (334th)
Isolation = 0.79 (357th)
Defensive key stats (inside top 100 or outside top 200)
AdjDEF SQ = 1.00 (148th)
Shot Making = 7th Percentile (260th)
Rim and 3 Rate = 88.7% (250th)
Open 3 Rate = 36.5% (300th)
FTR = 46.7% (352nd)
Rim and 3 SQ PPP = 1.14 (353rd)
Shot Selection = 98th Percentile (356th)
Defensive Shot Type: SQ PPP (Strengths & Weaknesses w/top 175 Frequency)
Post-Up = 0.79 (37th)*
Catch & Shoot 3PT = 1.01 (85th)
Off the Dribble 3PT = 1.02 (267th)
Cut = 1.23 (318th)
Off-Screen = 1.11 (348th)
Finishing at the Rim = 1.27 (354th)
Half Court = 1.06 (354th)
* = outside top 175 but added for matchup sake.
Minnesota
Offensive Key Stats (inside top 100 or outside top 200)
AdjOFF SQ = 1.04 (106th)
FTR = 35.9% (71st)
Rim and 3 SQ PPP = 1.09 (92nd)
Shot Selection = 67th Percentile (100th)
Open 3 Rate = 19.3 (244th)
Shot Making = 21st Percentile (280th)
Rim and 3 Rate = 83.1% (283rd)
Offensive Shot Type: SQ PPP (Strengths & Weaknesses w/top 175 Frequency)
Cut = 1.19 (90th)
Half Court = 1.01 (91st)
Off the Dribble 3PT = 1.02 (116th)
Off-Screen = 1.02 (125th)*
P&R Ball Screen = 0.97 (199th)
Midrange = 0.76 (228th)
Post-Up = 0.84 (249th)
Isolation = 0.88 (251st)
Catch & Shoot 3PT = 1.00 (266th)
Defensive key stats (inside top 100 or outside top 200)
AdjDEF SQ = 1.00 (156th)
FTR = 20% (12th)
Open 3 Rate = 25.3% (202nd)
Spacing = 76th Percentile (290th)
Defensive Shot Type: SQ PPP (Strengths & Weaknesses w/top 175 Frequency)
Transition = 1.26 (100th)*
Off-Screen = 0.99 (165th)
Catch & Shoot 3PT = 1.02 (176th)
P&R Ball Screen = 0.97 (183rd)
Half Court = 0.99 (220th)
Post-Up = 0.90 (262nd)
Midrange = 0.80 (284th)
Isolation = 0.98 (322nd)
* = outside top 175 but added for matchup sake.
Minnesota vs. AR-Pine Bluff Prediction
Minnesota may be reeling, but a date with Pine Bluff should help them get back on track. ShotQuality data paints an ugly picture of the Golden Lions. They don't do anything necessarily well while being horrific in a lot of different offensive and defensive shot types. Take Minnesota to take their anger out on ARPB in this home matchup.