We have Big 10 action on Tuesday with Minnesota (6-6 SU, 3-8-1 ATS) taking on No. 14 Wisconsin (10-2 SU, 8-4 ATS) from Madison at 9pmET at the Kohl Center.
Last season, Wisconsin swept the Gophers straight up, but did not cover either game.
Minnesota is 0-2 in the Big 10 after losing two Purdue (89-70) and Michigan (90-75) in early December. That was in the middle of a five-game losing streak that also included a loss at UNLV. After a loss to Mississippi State at home on Dec. 11, 69-51, they rebound two win two straight over Arkansas Pine-Bluff (72-56) and Chicago State (58-55) at home on Dec. 22. UNC transfer Dawson Garcia led Gophers with 18 points and added six rebounds on 8-of-15 shooting.
The game-sealing dunk from @Treyton42. ??@GopherMBB gets the dub? pic.twitter.com/lhyAOoKCcS
— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 22, 2022
The Golden Gophers have not played since Dec. 22 because last Thursday's game against Alcorn State was canceled due to travel issues. This is also a young team that is in transition mode by playing four freshmen a minimum of 17.7 minutes per game. When it comes to making the NCAA Tournament, this team is not even in the conversation. They are ranked 198th by KenPom and 243rd by the Net Rankings because they are 0-4 against Quad 1&2 teams.
Garcia (6-11, 230) leads the team with 14.3 points and 5.6 rebounds on 46% shooting (29.3% 3pt). Jamison Battle (17.5ppg last year) adds 12.9 points but is shooting just 35% from the field and 34.4% from long range. Offensively, Minnesota is averaging just 63.4 points per game on 42.6% shooting (32.9% 3pt). They rank 361st in free throw shooting (58.7%). They allow 66.8 points per game on 41.4% shooting (33.5% 3pt), so the defense is not bad.