Indiana @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 15, 2017 ) Indiana 74, Minnesota 75

Minnesota looks to continue its winning ways when it hosts Indiana on Saturday. The Gophers have won five consecutive games, including a 77-67 victory against Illinois in Big Ten play on Wednesday, to improve to 10-1 at home and hopes to beat the Hoosiers in back-to-back meetings for the first time since 2013-14 following a 75-74 triumph last season.

"I'm really happy with a nice home win as we needed it and maybe it will get us off the bubble," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. "We talked about setting the tone with our defense and rebounding, and I thought we did that." Indiana continues to experience growing pains under first-year coach Archie Miller after dropping a 71-61 decision to Wisconsin on Tuesday. The Hoosiers are sitting only one game above .500 after dropping their 16th straight game in Madison to the Badgers and hope to salvage a season that is quickly slipping away by avoiding their fifth consecutive road defeat overall. "It's the Big Ten and you have to bring it every given night," senior guard Collin Hartman told reporters. "It's (has to) come from us leaders and the guys who play all the time and have been here before."

TV: 5:15 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT INDIANA (8-7, 1-2 Big Ten): Hartman led the way with a career-high 18 points and Juwan Morgan added 17, but the Hoosiers were doomed by a 26.7 percent shooting performance from 3-point range. Robert Johnson tallied 14 points in the loss to Wisconsin to move within 28 points of moving past Quinn Buckner for 37th place on Indiana's all-time scoring list. The Hoosiers suffered a major blow with the news that sophomore centre De'Ron Davis, who is averaging 9.6 points and 4.3 rebounds this season, suffered a leg injury during Thursday's practice and is out indefinitely.

ABOUT MINNESOTA (13-3, 2-1): Jordan Murphy continued his sensational season with 17 points and 17 rebounds Wednesday for his 16th consecutive double-double - the longest streak by a Division I player since Tim Duncan did it at Wake Forest in 1996-97. Nate Mason added 17 points and six assists after missing the previous game with an ankle injury, while Amir Coffey tallied 16 points. Minnesota center Reggie Lynch will miss Saturday's game and could be suspended until 2020 pending an appeal for violating the university's sexual misconduct policy.

TIP-INS

1. The Gophers have won three of the last four meetings with the Hoosiers in Minneapolis.

2. Murphy is ranked second nationally in rebounds per game (12.9).

3. Morgan has finished in double figures in eight of his last nine games.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 79, Indiana 69