Gameday preview: Gophers men's basketball vs. Northwestern

8 p.m. vs. Northwestern • Williams Arena • Big Ten Network • (100.3 FM)

Wildcats are winless in 2021

Preview: The Gophers (13-10, 6-10 Big Ten) could be as shorthanded as they've been all season. Guard Gabe Kalscheur is out with a broken finger. Starting center Liam Robbins is questionable with am ankle sprain he aggravated in Saturday's 94-63 loss against Illinois. Robbins, the Big Ten's top shot blocker, isn't practicing and played only three minutes in the second half. The Wildcats (6-14, 3-13) are looking for their first win since defeating Ohio State in Evanston, Ill., on Dec. 26. Since the first 3-0 start in team history, Northwestern has dropped 13 straight games, including a 68-51 loss against Wisconsin at home Sunday. The closest games for the Wildcats during the losing streak came 81-78 at Penn State and 79-76 vs. Indiana.

Players to watch: Gophers senior forward Brandon Johnson is averaging 11 points and six rebounds in his past seven games. The 6-8 Western Michigan transfer could be looked at for an undersized center role with Robbins' injury. His best game this season was 26 points with eight three-pointers vs. Iowa on Dec. 25, but he has since turned into more of an inside scoring threat. Sophomore guard Chase Audige leads Northwestern in scoring with 12.9 points per game. The William & Mary transfer managed just five points on 2-for-7 shooting in the loss to Wisconsin, but he has highs of 22 and 25 points in Big Ten play.

Numbers: Northwestern is the first team in Big Ten history to lose 13 straight league games and the first since Longwood in 2016-17 to do that after a 3-0 start in conference play.

Marcus Fuller