Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Championship Sunday
The Minnesota Golden Gophers and Northwestern Wildcats are playing Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Tip-off from Evanston, IL, is at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Minnesota, 7-12 SU and 8-10-1 ATS, was defeated by Indiana on Wednesday. The Gophers have lost four straight and seven of eight Big Ten games. Northwestern, 14-5 SU and 11-8 ATS, defeated Nebraska on Wednesday. The Wildcats have won three of their past five and five of eight Big Ten games.
Minnesota and Northwestern split their two meetings last season. The Golden Gophers lead the series 87-45.
The Golden Gophers are coming off a couple of close, disheartening losses to Michigan and Indiana. They were defeated by eight total points, dropping them into last place in the conference standings.
Minnesota battled to the end versus the Hoosiers, losing on Trayce Jackson-Davis' go-ahead basket in the final minute. The Gophers were without leading scorer Dawson Garcia (14.9 PPG) and backup forward Pharrel Payne (7.2 PPG and 4.7 RPG), leaving only seven available scholarship players. Minnesota shot 22-for-64 from the field (34.4%) and 5-for-25 from distance (20%). It was also outrebounded 45-39.
Quitting is not in the blood. https://t.co/Fls9nkNqgr
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) January 26, 2023
The Golden Gophers average 62.2 points per game (350th) on 41.8 percent shooting (312th), including 31.3 percent from long range (312th). They convert 59.2 percent of their foul shots (363rd) and average 31.1 rebounds (240th) with a -2.8 rebounding margin. Minnesota is 276th nationally in schedule-adjusted offensive efficiency, per KenPom.
Garcia and Payne are both questionable for Saturday's game vs. Northwestern. The Gophers are also without guard Braeden Carrington (6.2 PPG and 3.9 RPG), who is out with a right leg injury. A few players to watch when Minnesota takes the floor are forward Jamison Battle (12.6 PPG and 3.8 RPG), guard Ta'lon Cooper (10.6 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 5.7 APG), and forward Joshua Ola-Joseph (7.0 PPG).
The Gophers surrender 66.9 points per game (117th), and their opponents shoot 42.1 percent from the field (118th) with a 33.7 three-point shooting percentage (197th). They're 101st in sched ule-adjusted defensive efficiency and 113th in assist-per-turnover ratio (1.08).