u men gameday
7:15 P.M. VS. INDIANA • WILLIAMS ARENA • BTN, 1500-AM
Gophers at a glance: They return home from their triple-overtime loss at Purdue desperate to end a three-game losing streak. The Gophers (15-8, 4-6 Big Ten) have played three or more overtimes only five times in school history. They gave up 23 second-chance points on 23 offensive rebounds Wednesday, watching the Boilermakers to overcome a horrid 9-for-23 (39.1 percent) from the free-throw line. … One of the team's bright spots was C Mo Walker, who has scored 14 points or more in three of the past four games. He finished with 17 points and six rebounds at Purdue. His production has been even more valuable with the Gophers sputtering from the perimeter. The Gophers have shot just 22.9 percent from three-point range in the last two games.
Indiana at a glance: The Hoosiers (14-8, 4-5) are firmly in "rebuilding mode" after claiming a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament last season, but Indiana isn't without talent and is coming off Sunday's home victory over No. 10 Michigan. PG Yogi Ferrell, who leads the Big Ten in scoring with 19.2 points per game in conference play, had 27 points and Indiana connected on eight of 13 three-point attempts in that game. But Indiana's identity doesn't come on offense — rather, the Hoosiers have been ahead of their experience level on the defensive end, where they rank 18th in the nation in efficiency. They held Michigan, which averages nearly 40 percent from downtown, to 3-for-13 from long range. … Indiana is one of four major conference teams starting at least three freshmen. One of them, Noah Vonleh, has been Big Ten freshman of the week seven times.
amelia rayno