1 p.m. vs. No. 7 Michigan • Williams Arena • ESPN2 (100.3 FM)
Wolverines on an impressive run
Preview: The No. 23 Gophers (10-4, 3-4 Big Ten) are looking to remain undefeated at home Saturday by handing Michigan (11-0, 6-0) its first loss. The Wolverines enter with three consecutive victories over ranked opponents each by 19-plus points, which had never been done in the Associated Press poll era. The first game of that stretch was an 82-57 dismantling of the Gophers in Ann Arbor on Jan. 6. The most impressive performance for Michigan, though, was trouncing No. 9 Wisconsin on Tuesday at home after a 43-6 second-half run that produced a 40-point lead. The Wolverines have two Big Ten road wins this season, at Nebraska and Maryland. In their last meeting at the Barn, the Gophers defeated Michigan 75-67 behind 51 combined points from Marcus Carr and Daniel Oturu.
Players to watch: Gophers junior G Both Gach is fifth on the team in scoring in conference play at only 6.3 points per game, but he had a team-best 13 points, six rebounds and three assists in Sunday's 86-71 loss at Iowa. Gach has something to prove against the Wolverines having scored only two points in 23 minutes in the first meeting 10 days ago. Wolverines C Hunter Dickinson ranks fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (19.7), fifth in rebounding (8.3) and fourth in blocks (1.7) in league games. Dickinson, who had 28 points vs. the Gophers earlier this month, leads the conference shooting, at 70.9% overall.
Numbers: The Gophers are sixth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (73.1), but they are 12th in scoring defense (77.4) in conference games. They are also last in field-goal percentage (37.2).
Marcus Fuller