Gophers look to remain on Big Ten Tournament track against Northwestern

After Saturday's disappointing loss to Penn State, the Gophers will look to get back on track in their penultimate home game of the season on Tuesday night against Northwestern. ESPN's matchup predictor gives Minnesota a 45.6% chance of beating the Wildcats while betting odds favor the Gophers by 2.5 points.

Before Tuesday's slate of games, Minnesota is in a three-way tie for 15th place in the Big Ten with Northwestern only one game behind. A Gophers win would bump them up to 12th in the conference, but a loss would take them out of the top 15 entirely and the Wildcats would take the final spot. With tough games looming at Nebraska and home against Wisconsin, this might be a game the Gophers need to have.

Northwestern began the season 11-2, but a season-ending injury to potential all-conference guard and second-leading scorer Brooks Barnhizer threw a wrench into their season. They're 3-11 since their hot start, but fresh off a 21-point Quad 1 win at Ohio State on Thursday and they head to Minnesota with four full days of rest.

Led by junior forward Nick Martinelli, who's averaging 19.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, the Wildcats still have one of the best wings in the conference. KenPom.com rates them as the 54th-best team in the country, with the No. 65 offense and 50th-ranked defense.

Prediction:

The biggest factor in this game will be Northwestern defending Dawson Garcia. Fifth-year big man Matthew Nicholson has started all 27 games this season for the Wildcats and he's proved to be an above-average defender, but slowing down Garcia is a different ball game.

Minnesota struggled against Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Penn State's frontcourt and their top-60 tempo on Saturday, but they match up much better against a Northwestern team that ranks outside the top 300 in tempo. I think Ben Johnson and the Gophers' veteran-laden team respond with a much better performance and take care of business.

Score: Minnesota 71 Northwestern 62

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