Gophers starting point guard Payton Willis to play against Wisconsin

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH:

Willis is back

Senior point guard Payton Willis, who missed Saturday's 77-60 win against Northwestern due to COVID-19 protocol, will play Wednesday against Wisconsin.

Willis, who averages 15.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and a team-high 4.3 assists this season, isolated for five days and was able to return to the team Tuesday after abiding by CDC guidelines for individuals testing positive for COVID.

In his previous two games, Willis had been under the weather when he totaled 10 points and six turnovers combined on 4-for-17 shooting in blowout road losses at Ohio State and Penn State last week.

"Talking to him he's feeling pretty good," Johnson said Tuesday. "It's more of an energy and fatigue thing."

Willis, who had 17 points in the U's 66-60 loss at Wisconsin on Jan. 30, is the only player on the current roster who has beaten the Badgers. He returned from an ankle injury to lead the Gophers with 21 points on 5-for-7 shooting from three in a win against Wisconsin at home on Feb. 5, 2020.

Loewe's Wisconsin fan club

Luke Loewe's cheering section was nearly 100 fans deep when the Gophers played the Badgers on Jan. 30 in Madison.

The Fond du Lac, Wis., native had family members and friends from Wisconsin and Minnesota watching as the Gophers fell 66-60 at the Kohl Center.

Loewe won't have nearly as many of his folks in attendance for Wednesday's rematch against the Badgers at Williams Arena, but he always knows someone is there watching.

In last Saturday's win against Northwestern, Loewe pointed toward the top section in the Barn and through up three fingers to signify his long-range shooting barrage. He hit 6-for-10 from three-point range to tie a career-high.

"My family they always come to support me," Loewe said. "They support me really well and come from all over Wisconsin and I got a few of them in Minnesota, too. I'm blessed to have a family that watches my games and supports me no matter what."

Loewe's been one of the Gophers' most consistent perimeter players in the last several games. The William & Mary transfer has scored in double figures in seven of the last 10 games, including his season-high 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting against Northwestern.

Loewe, who was primarily a defensive stopper and facilitator earlier in the season, ranks second on the team in assists (60) and fourth in scoring (8.9) overall.

On Feb. 9 at Nebraska, Loewe committed a season-worst five turnovers in a 78-65 loss, but he's only had three turnovers and 13 assists in the last four games, including a team-best seven assists vs. Northwestern.

Minnesota ties galore

The Gophers and the Badgers have seven combined scholarship players from Minnesota in their rotation this season.

The U's leading scorer is sophomore Jamison Battle, who has become one of the Big Ten's top players in his first season after transferring from George Washington.

Battle's one of the top transfers in power conference basketball leading the Gophers in scoring (16.6) and rebounding (6.5), while also shooting 37% from three-point range.

Senior Sean Sutherlin, who transferred from New Hampshire, started his second game of the season last weekend against Northwestern. But the 6-5 Irondale product is typically the top player off the bench with 6.8 points and 3.3 rebounds this season.

Another Minnesotan to spark the Gophers off the bench this season has been 7-foot freshman Treyton Thompson, who scored a season-high 10 points in the Jan. 22 win against Rutgers. Thompson also has six three-pointers made this year.

The Badgers have relied heavily on fifth-year senior Brad Davison seemingly forever, but this is his last trip home to the Barn. Davison is joined by fellow Minnesotans Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl in the starting lineup. Ben Carlson also has made contributions off the bench for Wisconsin.

In the Jan. 30 win against the Gophers, Davison, Wahl and Crowl scored in double figures and combined for 40 points.

Defensive consistency

Defensive inconsistency was a major reason the Gophers suffered through lengthy losing streak in the Big Ten.

A good sign was Northwestern being held to 37 percent shooting from the field, including 7-for-21 from three in last weekend 17-point loss at the Barn

But in the second half of Minnesota's last two road games, Ohio State and Penn State combined to shoot 61% from the field. But the Gophers shot just 29% combined after halftime.

Even in a Feb. 12 win vs. Penn State at home, the Gophers allowed the Nittany Lions to score their second most points in conference play (70) and shoot 55% from the field, including 60% in the first half.

Nebraska hadn't won a Big Ten game all season going 0-12 before putting up 78 points on the Gophers after shooting 58 percent in the second half Feb. 9, including 61% inside the arc. The Cornhuskers scored 40 points in the paint and 21 fastbreak points as well.

In a Feb. 6 loss, the Gophers allowed Iowa to shoot 52% in the second half, so there's been a downhill trend defensively for most of Big Ten play.

During the Gophers' 10-1 start this season they held opponents to 63.1 points per game, 24.8% shooting from three-point range, and 41% shooting from the field. Obviously, the competition wasn't outstanding as a whole, but they did have wins against Western Kentucky, Princeton, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Mississippi State.

Going 2-11 since then before Saturday, the Gophers allowed their opponents to score 74 points per game, shoot 39.4% (104-for-264) from three-point range and 48.7% from the field (369-for-758).

GAME INFO

Time: 8 p.m. CT, Wednesday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Minnesota 5-point underdog. Series: Minnesota leads the series 100-98, which includes 66-60 loss on Jan. 30 at Madison. TV: Big Ten Network. Online/Live video: BTN-plus. Radio: 100.3 KFAN

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (13-12, 4-12 in conference)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Payton Willis 6-4 200 Sr. 15.6

G – Luke Loewe 6-4 190 Sr. 8.9

G – E.J. Stephens 6-3 190 Sr. 10.5

F – Jamison Battle 6-7 225 So. 16.6

F – Eric Curry 6-9 245 Sr. 8.0

Key reserves – Sean Sutherlin, G, 6-5, Sr., 6.8 ppg; Charlie Daniels, F, 6-9, Sr., 1.7 ppg; Treyton Thompson, F, 6-11, Fr., 2.3 ppg.

Coach: Ben Johnson 13-12 (1st season)

Notable: Ten out of Minnesota's 12 losses have been against teams in the NET's top 50, including seven games against currently ranked opponents. … Junior forwards Parker Fox (Northern State transfer) and Isaiah Ihnen are sidelined indefinitely after offseason knee surgery. Fox, who tore his ACL and MCL in late March, is nine months recovered and could be cleared to practice soon. But it still appears that both Fox and Ihnen will sit out this season.

NO. 13 WISCONSIN BADGERS (21-5, 12-4)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Chucky Hepburn 6-2 Fr. 7.7

G – Brad Davison 6-4 Sr. 14.5

F – Johnny Davis 6-5 So. 20.9

F – Tyler Wahl 6-9 6-9 Jr. 11.2

C – Steven Crowl 7-0 So. 9.2

Reserves – Chris Vogt, C, 7-0, Sr., 2.5 ppg; Lorne Bowman IV, G, 6-2, So., 3.0 ppg; Ben Carlson, F, 6-9, So., 1.7 ppg.

Coach: Greg Gard 140-75 (7th season)

Notable: Badgers sophomore Johnny Davis had 55 points and 18 rebounds combined in his last two games, including 25 points against Michigan. The Badgers defeated Michigan 77-63 on Sunday before a postgame fight resulted in suspensions and fines. They have beaten the Gophers in 12 of their past 14 meetings.

Fuller's score prediction (Picks record: 18-7): Wisconsin 68, Gophers 64.