Injuries in the frontcourt are speeding up Gophers' development of freshman Pharrel Payne

Pharrel Payne had never started a game for the Gophers this season until Dawson Garcia was sidelined with an injury.

The 6-9, 255-pound freshman had the talent to provide an inside presence off the bench for the Gophers this season, but Garcia's absence has forced Coach Ben Johnson to speed up that development.

Garcia is out with a bone bruise for the fifth straight game in Sunday's matchup against Iowa at Williams Arena.

The first few starts of Payne's career were a bit rough in losses at Northwestern and Rutgers. He had as many turnovers (7) as rebounds and scored nine points combined in two games.

But the Gophers' 81-46 loss against Maryland on Feb. 4 could be a turning point for the young big man after his 14-point, six-rebound performance, including 12 points in the first half.

Payne, who averages 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and shoots 67% from the field, was an offensive force in the first half, hammering down three dunks against the Terrapins, but they used a hack-a-Payne philosophy to slow him down. That strategy made sense since he entered the game as a below 50% free throw shooter, but he hit a career-high 6-for-10 shots the foul line.

The Gophers' all-around struggles on the court have been apparent during a seven-game losing streak entering Sunday, but the freshmen starting frontcourt of Payne and Joshua Ola-Joseph have been showing glimpses recently of their potential together.

Time: 12 p.m. CT, Sunday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Gophers 11 1/2-point underdogs. Series: Gophers lead the series 102-93, but they suffered a 71-59 loss in Iowa City last season. TV: FS1. Online/Live video: Fox Sports. Radio: 100.3-FM

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (7-15, 1-11 BIG TEN)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Ta'Lon Cooper 6-4 195 Jr. 10.5

F – Jamison Battle 6-7 220 Jr. 12.6

F – Joshua Ola-Joseph 6-7 215 Fr. 7.4

F – Pharrel Payne 6-9 255 Fr. 7.3

Key reserves – Treyton Thompson, C, 7-0, So., 2.2 ppg; Jaden Henley, G, 6-7, Fr., 4.0 ppg; Will Ramberg, F, 6-5, Jr., 1.8 ppg.

Coach: Ben Johnson 20-32 (2nd season)

IOWA HAWKEYES (15-7, 7-6)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Ahron Ulis 6-3 190 Jr. 6.5

G – Tony Perkins 6-4 225 Jr. 11.4

G – Kris Murray 6-8 220 Jr. 20.7

F – Filip Rebraca 6-9 230 Sr. 14.0

Reserves – Payton Sandfort, F, 6-7, So., 9.7 ppg; Patrick McCaffery, F, 6-9, Jr., 7.7 ppg; Josh Dix, G, 6-5, Fr., 2.9 ppg.

Coach: Fran McCaffery 508-348 (27th season)

Notable: The Hawkeyes had their three-game winning streak end in Thursday's 87-73 loss at No. 1-ranked Purdue. Junior forward Kris Murray had 24 points in the loss. Murray, the twin brother of Sacramento Kings rookie Keegan Murray, ranks second in the Big Ten in scoring (20.7 points per game) and fifth in rebounding (8.2). Iowa's four-game win streak in January was snapped after back-to-back road losses to Ohio State and Michigan State last month. They've lost three straight conference road games.