Can we avenge the loss to Iowa from early January? Since that loss the Gophers are 4-2 with a couple nice wins while Iowa has gone the other way going 1-5. Let's keep these trends going, shall we?
Game Time: 7:30
TV: BTN
| Pos | Minnesota | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Iowa | Pos | |
| PG | Julian Welch | 10.1 | 6.1 | Bryce Cartwright | G | |
| G | Joe Coleman | 6.4 | 13.5 | Matt Gatens | G | |
| F | Austin Hollins | 8.7 | 11.4 | Roy Devyn Marble | F | |
| F | Rodney Williams | 10.6 | 8.4 | Zach McCabe | F | |
| C | Ralph Sampson III | 8.2 | 9.7 | Aaron White | F | |
| Bench | Andre Hollins | 5.5 | 8.1 | Melsahn Basabe | Bench | |
| Bench | Chip Armelin | 6.2 | 6.1 | Eric May | Bench | |
| Bench | Oto Osenieks | 3.3 | 6.8 | Josh Oglesby | Bench |
I am more curious about the Gopher lineup than I am the opponent's tonight. Julian Welch was benched down the stretch of the Illinois game in favor of Andre Hollins. Was Tubby riding the hot hand or is Andre earning himself some more time? Elliason has an ankle injury which may or may not affect his PT, Tubby has said that Oto will play more and we'll "go small."
Can Rodney and Joe get going offensively tonight against one of the weaker defensive teams in the conference?
| KenPom Efficiency Stats | Minnesota (46) | Iowa (105) |
| Record | 16-6 | 11-11 |
| Pnt / Poss | 1.088 | 1.096 (47) |
| Def Pnt / Poss | 0.939 | 1.020 |
| Off eFG% | 52.3% | 49.9% |
| Def eFG% | 47.3% | 51.8% (275) |
| Off Reb % | 35.3% | 32.7% |
| Def Reb % | 67.3% | 67.7% |
| TO % | 21.5% | 17.8% (29) |
This Iowa team does not defend very well, they are OK at rebounding and they do not turn the ball over. But what those numbers don't show is that this team works pretty hard and at least when we played before they wanted the W more than we did.
Now I think that the Gophers are a completely different team than they were last time around, so I'm not that worried about tonight's game. I think we win and I think we win by double-digits. I sure hope my confidence pays off because this game has to be a win.
This is not a "must win" game but is absolutely is a "can't lose" game. If you want to make the NCAA Tournament you absolutely cannot be swept by Iowa. If you want to get taken seriously you win this game. Dropping one or two games to teams that you shouldn't will occasionally happen, but lightning cannot strike twice in this case.
Get the win!