gophers men's gameday

6 P.M. at wake forest • ACC/BIG TEN CHALLENGE • ESPNU, 1500-AM

Gophers at a glance: One game after collapsing in the second half to St. John's, the Gophers (4-2) narrowly held on to beat Georgia in the NIT Season Tip-Off consolation game at Madison Square Garden despite letting a 16-point lead crumble to two. The Gophers got enough stops at the end despite shooting only 38.1 percent from the field in the second half while forcing only three Georgia turnovers, after the Bulldogs had turned the ball over 15 times in the first half. … The Gophers are shooting only 55.8 percent from the free-throw line through six games. They lead the Big Ten in steals with 11 per game and are third in turnover margin, forcing seven more turnovers than they commit per game. … In the two games in New York, F Joey King had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Andre Hollins collected 17 points and eight rebounds, but he turned the ball over 12 times in those two games.

Wake Forest at a glance: The Demon Deacons are 4-3 under first-year coach Danny Manning, the 15-year NBA veteran who had spent the past two seasons coaching at Tulsa. Wake's losses include two at home, to Iona and Delaware State. In their most recent game, a 72-65 loss to Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference member Delaware State on Friday, the Demon Deacons shot only 26.9 percent after halftime to the Hornets' 50 percent. … Wake has been hampered by averaging 15.7 turnovers per game, and opponents are scoring well (50.4 percent shooting) inside the arc. … Its strength so far has been on the boards, particularly on defense. Wake is averaging 44 rebounds per game, though it was outrebounded 38-34 by Delaware State. … F Devin Thomas (11.7 points, 10.3 rebounds per game) and G Codi Miller-McIntyre (11.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) lead the Deacons.

AMELIA RAYNO