GOPHERS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW
at Penn State, Bryce Jordan Center, noon Sunday
Streaming; radio: B1G+; 96.7-FM
Kent Youngblood’s analysis:
Opening bell: This much is certain: The Gophers (15-13, 5-12 Big Ten) will be playing on the opening day of the conference tournament Wednesday at Target Center. Minnesota, which has lost three straight and nine of 10, will finish in the bottom four, with either the 11th or 12th seed and play either Northwestern or Rutgers in the first round. The Gophers could technically finish in a three-way tie for 10th in the conference with a win and a Wisconsin loss to Michigan State and Purdue win at Michigan. But even in that case the Gophers would lose out on tiebreakers. Minnesota is coming off a 108-60 loss to Caitlin Clark and Iowa at Williams Arena on Wednesday. Again without injured guard Mara Braun and center Sophie Hart, the Gophers struggled to score, shooting 32.4%, and to defend. The 22 threes Iowa hit at Williams Arena Wednesday was a program high for a Gophers opponent.
Watch her: In their Jan. 31 loss to Penn State, the Gophers struggled to contain Ashley Owusu (who had 17 points, 11 rebounds and six assists). ... Gophers guard Amaya Battle scored 18 against Iowa and has averaged nearly 15 points a game and 4.5 assists in her last four games. Janay Sanders has scored in double figures in six of eight games since taking over for Braun in the starting lineup.
Forecast: Penn State (17-11) is in a tie with Michigan for seventh in the Big Ten at 8-9. Given how much the Nittany Lions have to play for as an NCAA tournament hopeful and given Minnesota’s injuries, an upset on the road figures to be difficult for the Gophers. They have to defend better, particularly on three-pointers.
