The Minnesota Golden Gophers' season has disintegrated in front of our eyes, as the team has gone from a 16-4 record and being ranked in the Top 15 in the country to now being 17-12 and having no chance at all of reaching the NCAA Tournament, short of a miracle run through the Big Ten Tournament next week.
The Gophers have won only once in their last nine games, and they'll attempt to salvage a bit of pride today as they host the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Barn this afternoon. When these two teams met last month in Happy Valley, the Nittany Lions triumphed over the Gophers by a score of 66-63.
It's Senior Day today for the Gophers, and the only healthy senior on the Gophers roster right now is guard Blake Hoffarber. Hoffarber has struggled recently, but he'll certainly want to end his career on a high note. The only other senior on the roster is point guard Al Nolen, who hasn't played in a couple of months but hopes to be ready for the Big Ten tournament.
You can watch today's game on the Big Ten Network if it is offered in your area. Tip-off is scheduled for noon Central time from Minneapolis.