Central Michigan @ Minnesota preview

Central Michigan at Minnesota

Last Meeting ( Dec 13, 2011 ) Central Michigan 56, Minnesota 76

Minnesota looks to bounce back from a challenging road trip when it hosts Central Michigan on Thursday. The Golden Gophers suffered losses to Oklahoma (71-62) and Butler (64-56) in the Gavitt Games and Utah (73-69) on Friday to stumble to their worst start since 2006, and they hope to turn their fortunes around when Central Michigan visits Thursday.

"Guys just need to stay with it because it's a long season and we have something like 27 more opportunities to go," Minnesota center Daniel Oturu told reporters. "It hurts to lose but it's just the fourth game of the season." The Golden Gophers return to Minneapolis to start a five-game home stand and can take some solace in the fact that they've won 12 straight non-conference games at Williams Arena, including an 85-50 victory over Cleveland State in their season opener. Minnesota has won the previous three meetings with Central Michigan by an average margin of 17 points, and hopes to improve to 8-0 against Mid-American Conference opponents since 2007-08. Central Michigan is firing on all cylinders following a 115-56 win against Siena Heights on Monday, and the high-flying Chippewas, who are averaging 108.8 points per game, hope to pour more misery on Minnesota.

TV: 8 p.m. ET. No TV

ABOUT CENTRAL MICHIGAN (4-0): Dallas Morgan stepped into the starting lineup in place of the injured Kevin McKay (unspecified) and went 7-of-11 from 3-point range en route to a career-high 27 points in the win against Siena Heights. Rob Montgomery added 17 points and five rebounds while Travon Broadway Jr. scored 15 points and dished out seven assists to help the Chippewas top 100 points for the third time in four games. "We feel like we got better and we look forward to our next challenge," Central Michigan coach Keno Davis told reporters. "In our four games by the end we seem like the fresher team."

ABOUT MINNESOTA (1-3): Oturu continued his hot start to the season as he scored 21 points and pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds, but the Gophers were unable to climb out of an early 16-point hole in the loss to Utah. Marcus Carr added 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists as the Gophers clawed to within three in the second half, but couldn't complete the comeback in Salt Lake City. Gabe Kalscheur tallied 13 points and Alihan Demir scored nine, but went 4-of-16 from the floor and Minnesota finished 35 percent from the field as a team.

TIP-INS

1. Oturu has posted three double-doubles in four games.

2. Carr has dished out six or more assists in each of his first four outings.

3. Central Michigan is ranked second nationally in points per game.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 86, Central Michigan 81