Minnesota Basketball OPEN THREAD: Gophers and Northwestern in the 2020 Big Ten Tournament

Where

Indianapolis

When

5:00 PM

How

BTN

Who

Northwestern

Northwestern has had a really tough season, finishing 8-22 overall and 13th in the Big Ten. We are not happy with how the Gopher season has played out, but it could be worse.

The Wildcats are coming off their best win of the season, beating Penn State to close out the regular season. And in fact they have won two out of three. Are they getting hot just at the right time? Are the Gophers going to be able to win this first game?

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Make Threes - We tend to shoot very well against bad defenses. Northwestern ranks near the bottom of the league in defensive 3 point %. This is good for us. If we make threes, we are lethal. If we make threes, we will win by double-digits.

Crush the Boards - NU is not a good rebounding team on either side of the court. Even if threes aren’t falling, dominate the boards, get some offensive put backs.

PREDICTION

If the Gophers are going to go on a 5-day run of wins, it starts with the first one. Not only is Northwestern just not very good this year, but this is a good matchup for us. Our strengths should come through and we win this one relatively easy. Not easy enough that starters can rest, but we will win by a comfortable margin.

Minnesota - 76
Northwestern - 65