7:30 p.m. vs. Penn State • Williams Arena • BTN, 100.3 FM
Preview: The Gophers (11-10, 2-10 Big Ten) will look to end a five-game Big Ten losing streak Saturday by beating Penn State at the Barn. Nine of their 10 losses this season were against opponents in the top 40 of the NCAA's NET rankings until falling 78-65 at Nebraska on Wednesday. The Cornhuskers, who had been 0-12 in league play, are the lowest NET team in the Big Ten at 182nd. The Nittany Lions (9-11, 4-8) have dropped six of their past seven games, but the past two losses were in nail-biting fashion, 51-49 at Wisconsin and 58-57 against Michigan. Penn State has the past two victories in the series, but it hasn't won at Minnesota since a 79-76 victory on a D.J. Newbill buzzer-beating three-pointer March 8, 2015.
Players to watch: Sophomore Jamison Battle broke out of a shooting slump with 21 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday. Battle, who scored all of his points in the second half against the Cornhuskers, had just two points in last Sunday's loss at Iowa. Penn State senior Jalen Pickett had his 11-game double figure scoring streak ended in last week's loss at Wisconsin, but he bounced back with 14 points Tuesday against Michigan.
Numbers: The Gophers committed 18 turnovers Wednesday in Lincoln, which were the second most this season after 28 turnovers in a Dec. 14 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
