The Gophers are facing Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament, can Minnesota move on to face Wisconsin?
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Indianapolis
2:30 PM Wednesday
Peacock
Northwestern
It was just a couple of weeks ago when Minnesota hosted Northwestern and lost by 12. Is there an advantage to having lost that game and getting a quick rematch?
Northwestern Wildcats
Record: 16-15 (7-10)
KenPom Rank: 47
Minnesota has seen a surge in production from their bench with Brennan Rigsby and Frank Mitchell averaging 12 and 10 points per game respectively over the last four games. Does this make Minnesota more balanced? Do they have a Big Ten Tournament run in them?
It starts with Northwestern on Wednesday afternoon.
KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN
Nick Martinelli must be stopped – This was a key last time around and Martinelli went off for 29 points. This one is obvious, he must be slowed. Martinelli is crafty and gutsy, the Gophers have to be physical with him without getting in foul trouble.
Our guy has to score too – Dawson Garcia nearly matched Martinelli’s total with 26, but most of that came in the second half as the Gophers tried to close the gap and come back to win.
Paging Mike Mitchell – This might be more for the tournament than just this singular game, but Mitchell has to find his shot again. Over his last four games he has three total points and is 1/10 from behind the arc. In the Rutgers loss, he appeared to pass up shots he would otherwise be taking. I don’t want to see Mitchell chucking shots, but he needs to make a couple and gain some confidence.
PREDICTION
I feel strangely confident in this game. Ben Johnson will lean on his team’s experience, lessons learned from the prior loss to the Wildcats and this time the Gophers get a win.
Minnesota – 73
Northwestern – 70