8 p.m. VS. North Dakota • Williams Arena • ESPNU, 1500-AM
Gophers at a glance: The tale of two halves continued for the Gophers (6-2) last outing, against Western Carolina at home. Minnesota ultimately won by 20 points after picking up the defensive effort in the second half, but it led by just one at the break. The Gophers were outrebounded 34-26 in the game — including 19-8 in the first half — their worst rebounding performance of the season, but five players finished in double digits in scoring, led by Carlos Morris and DeAndre Mathieu (16). Forward Joey King, meanwhile, has averaged 14 points in the past three games.
North Dakota at a glance: North Dakota (3-4) is coming off a last-minute road win at Drake. UND trailed by as many as 10 before Quinton Hooker hit a layup with 14 seconds left for the team's only lead of the game. Hooker scored a blazing 1.31 points per possession in that one and is averaging 9.6 points and 2.4 assists. Six-foot-8 senior Jaron Nash leads UND with 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds a game. North Dakota's biggest strength is on the defensive boards, where it is holding opponents to 27.5 percent of their available misses.
AMELIA RAYNO
