Minnesota @ Rutgers preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 24, 2019 ) Minnesota 64, Rutgers 68

Rutgers looks to extend its home winning streak to 13 games when it faces Minnesota in Big Ten play on Sunday. The Scarlet Knights have won seven of their last eight games overall, including a 59-50 victory over Indiana on Wednesday, and hope to take another step toward their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991 by knocking off the Golden Gophers for the third time in their last four meetings.

“We’ve been traveling in this league for a while and every place is so hard to play, but now the RAC is just like those places,” Rutgers coach Steve Pikiell told reporters. “It’s a great advantage for us and I’m very thankful.” Minnesota is another team that’s on an upward trajectory after knocking off Penn State 75-69 on Wednesday. The Golden Gophers have won six of their last eight games following a 4-5 start to the season to climb over .500 in conference play and they hope to stay in the thick of the Big Ten race by registering their first road win, after dropping five away games to open the 2019-20 campaign. “They’re growing and getting better, but now we got to do it on the road,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “We’ve done it at home, but we got to do it on the road and take the next step.

TIME: 1 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT MINNESOTA (10-7, 4-3 Big Ten): Marcus Carr went 10-of-11 from the free throw line en route to a team-high 27 points and nine assists Wednesday to help the Golden Gophers improve to 9-1 at home this season. Daniel Oturu continued his inspired play as he added 26 points and 14 rebounds to record his 11th double-double of the campaign while Alihan Demir tallied nine points as Minnesota beat the Nittany Lions for the fifth straight time in the rivalry. “It’s a Big Ten win and a great win for our guys,” Pitino told the media. “You got to take care of home court in this league because it’s really hard to win on the road.”

ABOUT RUTGERS (13-4, 4-2): Akwasi Yeboah scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win against Indiana to finish in double figures for the 78th time in his career. Caleb McConnell added 10 points and six rebounds while Myles Johnson scored eight as the Scarlet Knights held the Hoosiers to season lows in points, field goal percentage (31.7) and 3-point field goal percentage (10.5). Geo Baker returned from a three-game injury absence (thumb) to finish with seven points, four assists and a pair of steals, which moved him into a tie for 20th place on the program’s all-time steals list with 111.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Oturu has scored at least 20 points and grabbed 10 or more rebounds in seven games this season.

2. Rutgers entered Saturday ranked eighth nationally in scoring defense (58.8).

3. Carr is averaging 7.3 assists per game, which was tied for eighth best in the country through Friday.

PREDICTION: Rutgers 67, Minnesota 64