NJIT vs. Gophers
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
LYNN-SANITY– New Jersey Institute of Technology's Damon Lynn is not only the school's all-time leading scorer. He's the active Division I career leader with 1,906 points. Lynn is only 5-foot-11, but he's the big man on NJIT's campus. He led the Highlanders with 20 points and six three-pointers when they upset Michigan in 2014. The senior guard averages 23 points per game, which included 33 points on 8-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc in a loss at Purdue this year.
MURPHY RATIO– The Gophers needed to get Jordan Murphy back on track offensively. The sophomore captain was only averaging eight points in his previous three games before a 16-point, 14-rebound effort in Saturday's 56-52 win against Vanderbilt in Sioux Falls, S.D. It took Murphy shooting 8-for-17 from the field to break a two-game slump scoring under double figures. It was the second time in eight games he had double-digit shot attempts. Giving Murphy post touches early and often Tuesday night might help him continue to be aggressive scoring the ball. They'll need that in Big Ten play.
BENCH IMPACT– When Minnesota trailed by 12 points in the first half Saturday against Vanderbilt, Richard Pitino looked to his bench for a spark – and it delivered. Akeem Springs, Eric Curry and Bakary Konate helped the Gophers go on an 18-3 run to get back into the game. Konate is averaging five points, six rebounds and nearly two blocks in the last three games. Pitino was set on using a seven-man rotation to start the season. But Konate has played well enough to allow the Gophers to go eight players deep.
GAME INFO
Time: 7 p.m. CT, Tuesday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Gophers by 17 points Series: First meeting. TV: BTN. Online/Live video: BTN2go.com Radio: 1500-AM.
PROJECTED STARTERS
