:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60515541/trevormbakwe.0.0.0.jpg)
Game Time: 2:30 CST
TV: AXS.tv (DirecTV channel 340, Dish 131 and Comcast 897)
Radio: AM 1500 ESPN
| Pos | Minnesota (5-1) | Pnt/Gm | | Pnt/Gm | Stanford (4-2) | Pos |
| PG | Andre Hollins | 15.0 | 14.8 | Chassan Randle | G | |
| G | Austin Hollins | 12.0 | 4.4 | Christian Sanders | G | |
| F | Joe Coleman | 6.7 | 12.0 | Dwight Powell | G | |
| F | Rodney Williams | 14.5 | 6.5 | Josh Huestis | F | |
| C | Elliott Eliason | 2.3 | 11.0 | Stefan Nastic | F | |
| Bench | Trevor Mbakwe | 8.8 | 5.0 | Andy Brown | Bench | |
| Bench | Julian Welch | 2.2 | 12.5 | Robbie Lemmons | Bench | |
| Bench | Maverick Ahanmisi | 5.5 | 4.5 | John Gage | Bench |
Final chance to earn a win in the Bahamas. Stanford lost their first game to Missouri by six and then beat Ben Jacobsen's Northern Iowa by 16. But for Gopher Hoops fans the first thing that should come to mind when we are playing Stanford is the beatdown they put on Minnesota in last year's NIT final. The Gopher's ended their hot run through the NIT a game too early and Stanford ran up a 24 point win over Minnesota.
The difference today is that the Gophers return everyone who played a minuted in that NIT title game and Stanford is returning just one starter.
I really like this Gopher roster, sure we lost to Duke but I don't think this is a Final Four caliber team. I am very confident that we can handle Stanford if we show up. With that said, basketball is a funny sport and if we come out flat or aren't riding that "edge" of competitiveness you can get knocked around by 25 points. these holiday tournaments can lull you into losing that edge. Stanford is a good team and this will be a test of mental toughness.
I'd really like to see a great game from Trevor Mbakwe, but really I don't care as long as the team shows up and gets the win. Nobody can be upset with a 2-1 record, losing to Duke (except maybe Ruesse). Get this win.