Minnesota @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 19, 2020 ) Indiana 68, Minnesota 56

Indiana looks to end a two-game losing skid when it hosts Minnesota on Wednesday. The Hoosiers dropped games against Purdue (57-49) and No. 22 Illinois (67-66) in the last week to leave their NCAA Tournament hopes hanging in the balance, and they hope to play their way off the bubble by completing the season sweep of the Golden Gophers following a 68-56 win in Minneapolis on Feb. 19.

“Everybody knows what time it is and everybody knows what’s at stake,” Indiana guard Aljami Durham told reporters. “I feel like if we keep playing as hard as we can then we can do whatever we want.” Minnesota is likely to miss March Madness for the fifth time in the last seven years following a 71-69 loss to No. 24 Wisconsin on Sunday. The Golden Gophers have dropped five of their last six games to fall below .500 on the season, and they hope to salvage some pride by knocking off the Hoosiers in Bloomington for the first time since Jan. 12, 2012. “There’s no two games or Big Ten Tournament because our sole focus is on Indiana,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “We’re not focused on weeks from now … we’re moving on to Indiana.”

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

ABOUT MINNESOTA (13-15, 7-11 Big Ten): Daniel Oturu continues to be one of the lone bright spots for the Gophers as he scored a game-high 26 points and corralled 12 rebounds against Wisconsin to register his fourth consecutive double-double and his 17th of the season. Marcus Carr added 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and four assists, but the Golden Gophers missed five of six free throws in the last two minutes. Isaiah Ihnen contributed six points and 10 rebounds while Gabe Kalscheur was limited to five points as Minnesota was doomed by a 4-of-19 performance from 3-point range.

ABOUT INDIANA (18-11, 8-10): Durham led the way with 13 points while Trayce Jackson-Davis added 12 points, 12 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots against Illinois to register his 10th double-double of the season. Devonte Green scored 11 points and dished out three assists while Rob Phinisee finished with 10 points and five rebounds, but the Hoosiers fell short despite shooting 50 percent from 3-point land. “We finish at Assembly Hall and we need that place to be a home-court advantage,” Indiana coach Archie Miller told reporters. “If we play as hard as we have and with a little more discipline and then hopefully we’ll have the advantage.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Indiana has held its last four opponents to fewer than five 3-pointers made.

2. Oturu is averaging 25.3 points over his last three games.

3. The Hoosiers have won six of the last seven home meetings with the Gophers.

PREDICTION: Indiana 79, Minnesota 71