8 p.m. at Northwestern • BTN, 96.7-FM

U faces tough test in first road game

Gophers update: This is the first of two straight games for the Gophers (1-2, 0-1) against teams expected to vie for the Big Ten title. It will be a test, as the Wildcats crushed the same Eastern Illinois team that Gophers beat by four by a whopping 36 points. The key will be cutting down on turnovers. PG Jasmine Powell is averaging 19.7 points and is among the conference leaders in assists (7.0), but she also has 19 turnovers in three games. F Kadi Sissoko (15.3 points) has scored in double figures in all three games. She has five blocks in her past two. But she also has 12 turnovers; she and Powell have 31 of the team's 56 turnovers over three games. G/F Gadiva Hubbard is averaging 13.3 points and is 12-for-27 on three-pointers (44.4%).

Northwestern update: This will be the Big Ten opener for the 17th-ranked Wildcats (1-0). Northwestern has five of its top scorers back from the 2019-20 team that finished 26-4 overall and 16-2 in the conference, sharing the regular-season title with Maryland. In the Wildcats' 93-57 victory over Eastern Illinois, junior G Veronica Burton had 21 points, senior G Lindsay Pulliam had 18 and F Sidney Wood had 14. The Wildcats beat the Gophers by two points in Williams Arena in the only game between the teams last season.

KENT YOUNGBLOOD