The Gophers got an important win Sunday night in Evanston, Illinois over Northwestern, keeping Minnesota on the right side of the NCAA bubble for now. After two consecutive road games, the Gophers return home Wednesday night for another big home game, a game Minnesota should win over Illinois. Most predictions have the Gophers in the Tournament with an 8-10 Big Ten record, but a 9-9 conference record will make Minnesota feel much more comfortable.
With the Tourney talk heating up and Minnesota returning from a two-game road trip, tickets are in high demand according to Minnesota-based Ticket King who reports a big uptick in sales following Minnesota’s Sunday win. Lower level Gophers basketball tickets are going $55-$185 for lower level at The Barn.
For the Gophers to get any more wins, they will need to cut down on turnovers which they committed 17 of in the come-from-behind win over Northwestern. Here are some additional game notes courtesy of Gopher Sports:
• Minnesota squares off against Illinois for the first and only time this season on Wednesday night at the Barn.
• The Gophers are 6-7 in Big Ten action, with a 4-2 mark at home in conference play.
• Minnesota stopped a five-game winless streak at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Prior to Sunday, the Gophers’ last win in Evanston came on Feb. 6, 2008, a 92-72 win over the Wildcats.
• The Gophers went 1-2 against the Illini last season, defeating them in Champaign before a home loss and a first-round Big Ten Tournament defeat by Illinois in Chicago.
• Minnesota leads the league in steals per game (7.8), is second in free throw percentage (.742), and ranks fourth in three-pointers made per game (7.2) and assists (14.0).
• With his career night of 18 points and nine rebounds against Wisconsin, junior forward Maurice Walker became the sixth different Gopher to lead the team in scoring during a game this season. He had been averaging 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game this season prior to the Jan. 22 win over the Badgers. Walker is the team’s leading rebounder (5.7 rpg) over the last seven games, along with a team-high 17 points versus the Boilermakers on Feb. 5.
• DeAndre Mathieu made the game-winning layup on Feb. 8 against Indiana and over the last seven games, is the team’s leading scorer (13.9 ppg). Mathieu poured in a team-high 18 points (13 in second half) in the win at Northwestern.
• Two of the Gophers’ transfers, guards DeAndre Mathieu and Malik Smith, have played integral roles in the team’s success this season. Behind top scorer Andre Hollins, Mathieu and Smith are second and third on the team in scoring in B1G games, averaging 12.3 and 9.8 points per game, respectively. Mathieu leads the Gophers in assists (112) and 3-point shooting (48.1 percent).