Minnesota looks to answer back-to-back losses on the road when it hosts Northwestern on Saturday afternoon in a Big Ten matchup in Minneapolis.
The Golden Gophers (12-12, 3-12 Big Ten) are coming off defeats against No. 18 Ohio State and Penn State. They will go for back-to-back wins at home, where they are 7-5 this season.
Minnesota head coach Ben Johnson is looking for improvement from his team after it allowed Penn State to cruise to a 67-46 win on Thursday. The Golden Gophers were outscored 40-27 in the second half.
“We didn’t have a lot of resistance, whether that was guarding the post or defending the pick and roll,” Johnson said. “Our guards got posted, our guards got driven, our bigs got posted.”
The next challenge will come against Northwestern (12-12, 5-10), which also is looking to snap a two-game skid. The Wildcats are coming off losses against then-No. 13 Illinois and No. 5 Purdue in their last two contests.
Both opponents featured dominant big men, with Kofi Cockburn leading the Fighting Illini and the tandem of Zach Edey and Trevion Williams filling the paint for the Boilermakers.
“You’ve got to pick your poison,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said following the 70-64 setback to Purdue. “If you’re all over their 3-point shooters, then now you’re playing Edey and Trevion one-on-one.”
Boo Buie leads Northwestern with 15.0 points and a team-high 4.6 assists per game. Pete Nance (14.7 points per game) and Chase Audige (10.9) also are averaging in double digits in scoring.
The Wildcats are 3-5 on the road this season.
Minnesota’s Jamison Battle averages team-best totals in points (16.4) and rebounds (6.2). Payton Willis (15.6) and E.J. Stephens (10.3) are also averaging double digits in scoring.
This is the first of two regular-season games between Northwestern and Minnesota. They are scheduled to meet again on March 6 in Evanston, Ill.
–Field Level Media
