The Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-5, 2-4) return home to Williams Arena on Sunday afternoon to take on the Northwestern Wildcats (12-6, 2-4).
Both teams enter the game at 2-4 in Big Ten play but appear to be moving in opposite directions of late. Northwestern has dropped three of its last four games although upon closer inspection that four-game stretch includes close losses to Big Ten contenders Illinois and Michigan with the sole win coming against Michigan State.
But a 20-point loss at Wisconsin in their last outing has Northwestern arriving in Minnesota looking to turn things around. Minnesota will have to keep tabs on John Shurna who leads the Wilcats with 19.1 points per game and can hurt you from inside or out.
The Golden Gophers should be feeling pretty good as they return home after winning their last two Big Ten games on the road at Indiana and at Penn State. Minnesota seems to have adjusted to losing leading scorer Trevor Mbakwe as different players have stepped up at different times to make plays, led by Rodney Williams and Julian Welch.
The game is scheduled to tip at 3:00 p.m. CT and will be televised on the Big Ten Network.
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