Minnesota @ Wisconsin preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 5, 2020 ) Wisconsin 52, Minnesota 70

Wisconsin looks to continue its late-season surge when it hosts Minnesota on Sunday. The Badgers have won five consecutive games, including an impressive 81-74 victory against No. 22 Michigan, to solidify their NCAA Tournament prospects, and they hope to stay in contention for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament by extending their home winning streak to seven games.

“We’re playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Wisconsin guard D’Mitrik Trice told reporters. “We’ve just got to win and control what we can control and then everything will fall into place.” Minnesota is left to pick up the pieces after blowing a 17-point lead in the 74-73 loss to eighth-ranked Maryland on Wednesday. The Golden Gophers imploded down the stretch to leave their NCAA Tournament hopes on life support, and they hope to bounce back by completing the season sweep of the Badgers for the first time since 2008-09. “I feel for our guys as they are playing hard but I need to get them back and positive again,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “We have a great opportunity on Sunday and hopefully we will be a little more composed.”

TIME: 6:30 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT MINNESOTA (13-14, 7-10 Big Ten): Daniel Oturu scored 28 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the floor and pulled down 11 rebounds against Maryland to register his fifth double-double in his last six games. Marcus Carr added 19 points and seven assists to give him 182, which broke the single-season assist record set by Arriel McDonald (179) in 1993-94. Isaiah Ihnen scored a career-high nine points and Gabe Kalscheur also tallied nine points, but missed the front end of a one-in-one late with 12 seconds to play against the Terrapins.

ABOUT WISCONSIN (18-10, 11-6): Trice went 5-of-6 from the 3-point line en route to a game-high 28 points and dished out four assists as the Badgers finished 11-of-23 from beyond the arc. Aleem Ford added 18 points and eight rebounds while Micah Potter produced 18 points and seven rebounds to help Wisconsin top the 80-point mark in back-to-back road games for the first time since 1993-94. “This was a big, big win for us,” Trice told reporters. “It just goes to show that we’re not just a team that can play well at home, but we can also play well on the road."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Wisconsin has won nine of the last 11 meetings with Minnesota.

2. Oturu has posted 16 double-doubles this season.

3. The Badgers have knocked down at least 10 3-pointers in each of their last five games.

PREDICTION: Wisconsin 78, Minnesota 67