Gameday: Gophers vs. Purdue

January 8, 2012 at 8:35AM

Gophers at a glance: After opening the conference schedule 0-3, the Gophers are going to be playing with something of a sense of urgency. Lose this game at home and the Gophers could be looking at 0-5 after heading to Indiana. Coach Tubby Smith is considering starting Joe Coleman to get more aggressiveness in the lineup. The Gophers won the rebounding battle by one against Iowa , but have struggled on the boards overall in the past four games. The other two problems have been shooting and getting to the free-throw line. Against Iowa, the Gophers shot 37.5 percent in the second half and 17.4 percent from behind the arc.

Purdue at a glance: The Boilermakers defeated Illinois and Iowa -- two teams that beat the Gophers -- to start the season, but on Thursday they were blown out by one of the bottom-of-the-barrel Big Ten teams, Penn State. Robbie Hummel had 16 points in that game and DJ Byrd had 12, but point guard Lewis Jackson, who recently returned from a foot injury, had no points and two assists and has been looking lethargic ever since returning. If Purdue doesn't get more than 45 points and shoot better than 31.9 percent, the Gophers should be able to handle them, too.

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