Preview: The Gophers (12-16, 4-11) hope to secure the ninth seed in the Big Ten tournament by upsetting Michigan State in their last regular-season game. They stunned Michigan 82-78 in two overtimes on the road on Thursday. The Spartans (24-4, 12-3) have clinched their first outright Big Ten championship. They had a six-game winning streak until losing to Ohio State 54-53 at home Thursday.
The Gophers will win because: It is Senior Day. China Antoine and Kristen Dockery will be recognized. ... Junior guard Brianna Mastey is coming off a career-best 19 points. She should be confident. ... The Gophers are a better free throw-shooting team -- sometimes it's a reach to find reasons for an upset -- 71.7 percent to MSU's 67.8 percent.
The Gophers will lose because: The Spartans beat the Gophers 66-54 at East Lansing, Mich., on Jan. 23. ... MSU leads the conference in scoring defense, giving up 55.1 points per game; rebound margin, a plus 8.6; steals, 10.2 per game, etc. ... The Spartans have followed up their past seven losses with a victory.
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