Minnesota Basketball: Previewing Wisconsin

It’s just a waiting game at this point. Three regular season games and a Big Ten Tournament opening round matchup before this season mercifully concludes. The Gophers got expectedly manhandled by a Michigan State team that has national title aspirations and Amir Coffey finally elected to have season-ending shoulder surgery after trying to mitigate an earlier injury through rehab. Just another week of Gopher basketball.

Next up is Wisconsin, who is experiencing a down year and will most likely miss its first NCAA Tournament since 1998. Ordinarily this would’ve been a spectacular time for some old fashioned schadenfreude, but with Minnesota sucking it up worse than the Badgers the trash talk is entirely misplaced. Maybe next year.

Essentials:

Who are the Gophers playing?

Wisconsin Badgers (12-16, 5-10)

What time are they playing?

Mon., Feb. 19 @ 8 p.m. CT

Where are they playing?

Kohl Center

Can I watch the game on TV?

Yes, FS1.

Can I listen to the game on the radio?

Yes, KFAN 100.3

Days until next season:

263

Gopher basketball memory that doesn’t suck:

On Jan. 23, 2014 DeAndre Mathieu and Mo Walker each scored 18 points, pushing the Gophers to an 81-68 victory over the No. 9 Badgers, who took their third straight loss.

#GopherHaiku for the game:

One losing season

Now Kohl Center is empty.

But, you know, best fans.

Prediction

KenPom doesn’t like the Gophers in this one, but only predicts a 5-point loss, 73-68. I’ll take the over on flops by Brad Davison.