Gophers at a glance: Minnesota looked a little tired Saturday after coming off a tough road trip that included four games in six days, but the Gophers quickly rebounded from a slow start to take care of North Florida. They hope to do the same against SDSU on Tuesday before heading out to California to face USC. In the past couple of games, the defensive-minded Gophers have benefitted from a balanced offense, getting double-digit scoring performances from four players in each. Minnesota has started to show improvement cutting down turnovers in the past two contests, but haven't recorded fewer than 10 since the season opener. Rodney Williams continues to lead the team with 14.1 points and 6.2 rebounds a game.
South Dakota State at a glance: The 6-2 Jackrabbits' only losses have come to Alabama and Hofstra, and they will face plenty of other challenges ahead with a tough schedule looming. But SDSU has held its own so far, outdoing opponents in just about every category and winning its past five games, including a 71-70 victory over North Dakota when junior guard Chad White hit an improbable shot at the buzzer. The Jackrabbits are shooting 47.1 percent from the field and have five players averaging 35 percent or better on three-point attempts. The Jackrabbits average 10.3 turnovers per contest.
AMELIA RAYNO
