The Gophers suffered a tough loss on Saturday against Purdue, and will probably drop a bit when this week's rankings come out, but are still currently in a tie for fourth in the Big Ten with Penn State and Michigan State. The Gophers' 16-5 overall record is significantly better than that of the Spartans (13-8) or the Nittany Lions (12-8), which would put them at a higher seed in the Big Ten Tournament if the season ended today. . .but, the season doesn't end today, and the Gophers still have to battle for one of those top seeds. They'll have two opportunities to do just that this week.
Their first game of this week will happen on Wednesday night, with a trip to Assembly Hall to take on the Indiana Hoosiers. The Hoosiers have an overall record of 11-11, but they currently have a dismal 2-7 mark in the Big Ten Conference. One of those seven losses was a 67-63 defeat at the hands of the Golden Gophers in Minneapolis back on January 4. Tip-off for this one is scheduled for 5:30 PM Central time, and you'll be able to find television coverage for this one on the Big Ten Network.
On Sunday afternoon, the Gophers will play host to the top ranked team in the nation, the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are one of the country's few remaining undefeated teams, having been victorious in their first 22 games of this season, including a 9-0 record in the Big Ten. They got a scare from the Gophers in Columbus back on January 9, but the Buckeyes managed to pull out a 67-64 victory to keep their record unblemished. Tip-off for this one is schedule for 1:00 PM Central time at The Barn, and will be televised on ESPN.
You can also hear the action for both of these games on the radio with WCCO-AM 830.
Best of luck to the Gophers this week as they continue the push on towards March.