Northwestern @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 28, 2019 ) Minnesota 62, Northwestern 50

Minnesota has already proved what it is capable of at home, winning six of its seven games at Williams Arena by double figures - including a victory over No. 5 Ohio State. The Golden Gophers can go a long way towards erasing the damage their 1-3 start created by maintaining that success at home over the next 10 days - a stretch that starts Sunday against Northwestern.

While winning on the road has proven to be elusive (0-4), Minnesota is 6-1 at home - winning each time by at least 13 points - with a 73-68 loss to DePaul on Nov. 29 serving as the team's lone blemish in familiar surroundings. The Gophers, who will host No. 13 Michigan and No. 21 Penn State immediately after visiting No. 16 Michigan State on Thursday, nearly got that elusive road victory Thursday before falling to Purdue in double overtime. Meanwhile, the Wildcats appeared to be on the verge of a breakthrough after giving Michigan State and DePaul all they could handle in a pair of five-point losses prior to Christmas, but the youngest team in the Big Ten failed to maintain the same level of play in last Sunday's 67-66 home loss to Hartford. Northwestern committed a season-low five turnovers but allowed the Hawks to shoot a season-high 56.3 percent from the field en route to a third straight defeat.

TIME: 7:30 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (5-7, 0-2 Big Ten): Miller Kopp (12.6 points) reached the 20-point mark three times in six December contests, including a 21-point effort on Dec. 21 at DePaul and a season-high 24 versus Hartford. Fellow forward Ryan Young (10.8 points, team-high 7.0 rebounds) is the only Wildcat converting at least half of his field-goal attempts (58.7 percent) and has done some of his best work over the last four games, averaging 14 points and nine boards. A third freshman, 6-2 guard Boo Buie (10.8 points, 2.6 assists) has been exceptional during Northwestern's losing streak, averaging 21.7 points and 5.2 assists while knocking down 11 of his 22 3-point attempts and shooting 53.5 percent from the floor overall.

ABOUT MINNESOTA (7-6, 1-2): The heartbreaking double-overtime loss ruined another masterful performance from 6-10 center Daniel Oturu (team-high 19.1 points, conference-high 12.2 rebounds, 3.0 blocks), who finished with a career-high 29 points and 18 boards for his fourth double-double in five games and eighth of the season. Fellow sophomore Marcus Carr (15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds), who ranks second in the conference in assists (6.9), poured in 27 points versus the Boilermakers and has scored at least 24 points in three of his last six outings. Gabe Kalscheur (14.0 points) has buried multiple 3-pointers in all but two games and is averaging 23.3 points while shooting 51.7 percent from long-range over the last three contests.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Minnesota has dropped four straight at home to Northwestern.

2. With 151 points in 12 games this season, Kopp is six points shy of matching his offensive output in 32 outings as a freshman.

3. Oturu is averaging 25 points and 19 rebounds over the last two contests.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 79, Northwestern 65