The Minnesota Golden Gophers have gotten off to an 0-2 start in Big Ten play with losses at Illinois and Michigan, making their first home game in the conference a critical one tonight. Unfortunately, the Iowa Hawkeyes are no longer the pushover they once were. Iowa stunned many by winning at Wiscosnin this past weekend and in their own Big Ten opener they challenged Purdue for 40 minutes in Iowa City.
For Minnesota to stay in contention for an NCAA Tournament berth wins int heir next two home games against unranked Iowa and Purdue are necessary. Julian Welch is the only player for the Golden Gophers averaging in double figures at 10.4 points per game, but Roy Devyn Marble, Matt Gatens, and Melsahn Basabe all had solid games last weekend against Wisconsin for Iowa.
For more on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, check out The Daily Gopher. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.