7 P.M. VS. NJIT • WILLIAMS ARENA • NO TV (88.5-FM)
Gophers at a glance: The Gophers (7-3) close out nonconference play as well as a streak of five consecutive home games; the Big Ten schedule begins at Rutgers on Thursday. Their only other meeting with NJIT came in December 2011, when Rachel Banham had 20 points and seven rebounds in a 71-47 victory. Now a senior, Banham is averaging 23.2 points per game, ninth in the nation and second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell. However, she is coming off her two worst shooting performances of the season; she shot 6-for-18 from the floor and scored 17 points in Wednesday's 57-47 victory over North Dakota, and a week earlier she was 6-for-20 for 22 points in a 72-53 loss to New Mexico. Combined with Carlie Wagner's 19.0 points per game, the Gophers have the fourth-highest scoring duo in the nation at 42.2 points per game.
New Jersey Institute of Technology at a glance: The Newark-based Highlanders (3-8) have had only one winning season since moving to Division I in 2006-07, when they went 16-15 in 2012-13. They have lost three in a row, all at home, most recently to North Dakota State 64-59 on Tuesday. In that game, senior Ronni Grandison — a Rochester native whose father, Ronnie Grandison, played for the Rochester Renegade of the Continental Basketball Association as well as for five NBA teams — scored 18 points, eight more than her previous career high. Leah Horton had 16 points and 11 rebounds against the Bison and is NJIT's only player averaging double digits in scoring at 12.3 points per game. NJIT's only game against a major-conference program is an 81-54 loss at Virginia on Dec. 5.
Note: The game can be streamed on BTN Plus.
