The Minnesota Golden Gophers picked up a big win when they prevailed over the Illinois Fighting Illini with an overtime victory this past weekend, but they'll need to build on it if they want to have a chance at reaching the NCAA Tournament. That all starts Wednesday night when the Gophers play the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road.
The Gophers have won six of the seven previous meetings against the Hawkeyes, but the lone loss came earlier this season when Iowa picked up a 64-62 win over Minnesota on Jan. 4. They have a chance to get back on the right track when they tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on the Big Ten Network.
There have been plenty of key players that needed to step up since Trevor Mbakwe went down for the season, but the newest in Joe Coleman. Since being inserted into the Gopher starting lineup, Coleman is averaging a team high 13.5 points to go along with 5.2 rebounds.
As far as Iowa is concerned, they're a pretty even bunch with Matt Gatens leading the way as the senior guard has averaged 13.5 points per contest this season. Roy Devyn Marble is the only other Hawkeye averaging in double figures with 11.4 points per game while Aaron White, Zach McCabe and Melsahn Besabe aren't far behind.
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.