Gophers at a glance: After dropping four games in a row, the Gophers (14-5, 2-4 Big Ten) come into this game having won their past two -- both on the road. Now they will need to take the momentum back home, where they have probably struggled the most this season. Freshman Joe Coleman is coming off a career game in his third start, scoring 23 points -- more than any Gophers player has scored this season -- at Penn State last Sunday. As a whole, the Gophers have shot better, defended better and gotten to the line far more often, all trends they will need to maintain if they want to return to contention in the conference.
Northwestern at a glance: The Wildcats (12-6, 2-4) showed they have some fight in them when they ousted Michigan State a week ago. But in the next game, Northwestern was creamed by 20 at Wisconsin. The Wildcats weren't totally healthy then, but they will need to do better than their 24 rebounds and 42.2 shooting percentage to challenge at Williams Arena. John Shurna and Drew Crawford have proven to be a formidable duo this season, with both sitting in the league's top scoring tier. Shurna is at No. 1 in the Big Ten with 19.1 points per game; Crawford is No. 3, averaging 17.6.
AMELIA RAYNO
