GOPHERS MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY
2:15 p.m., Saturday vs. Penn State at Williams Arena
TV; radio: BTN; 100.3 FM
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Marcus Fuller's preview:
Opening bell: In the past two games — a 73-55 loss at Nebraska, and a 105-97 loss at Illinois — the Gophers (17-11, 8-9 Big Ten) went from their worst scoring game of the season to their highest scoring game in a regulation loss since 1968. Everything seemed to go right offensively at Illinois for Ben Johnson's team. Dawson Garcia and Cam Christie combined for 52 points for a team that hit 14 three-pointers and committed only five turnovers. Still, the Gophers dropped their fourth straight road game. Their last road win was 83-74 on Jan. 27 at Penn State. The Nittany Lions (14-15, 8-10) enter the U's Senior Day on Saturday playing better than the last meeting with five wins in the last nine games, including at Indiana and at Rutgers.
Watch him: Elijah Hawkins finished with his fourth double-digit assist game of the season Wednesday with 10 points, 12 assists and zero turnovers for the Gophers at Illinois. Hawkins, who ranks second in the nation with 7.5 assists per game, needs only four assists to tie former Gophers point guard Marcus Carr's single-season record of 207 in 2019-20.
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Injuries: None.
Forecast: The Gophers need to put together a winning streak in the last three regular-season games for a remote chance at getting on the NCAA tournament bubble. That shouldn't be out of the question since they won three in a row in league play earlier this season, which started with a Penn State road victory.
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![Vikings guard Dalton Risner, right, runs through drills with Doug Nester (72) during practice at TCO Performance Center in Eagan on Friday.](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/RYZVIHV57NFAXCWPKOIV2PAWY4.jpg?h=91&w=145&fit=crop&bg=999&crop=faces)