Minnesota @ Northwestern preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 5, 2017 ) Minnesota 70, Northwestern 66

Minnesota looks to bounce back from its first loss in nearly a month when it hits the road to face Northwestern on Wednesday. The Gophers saw their five-game winning streak come to an end following a 75-71 setback to Indiana on Saturday and hope to move back over .500 in Big Ten play by notching back-to-back victories against the Wildcats for the first time since 2012-13 following a 70-66 triumph last season.

"We will get there I really believe it," Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. "These are a great group of guys and they will get their chemistry on the court for sure." Northwestern's disappointing season went from bad to worse as it suffered a pair of defeats to Nebraska (70-55) and Penn State (78-63), respectively, in the last week to fall completely out of the NCAA Tournament picture. The Wildcats, who were ranked 20th nationally in mid-November, haven't been able to match preseason expectations and hope to stop the bleeding by rediscovering their shooting stroke after finishing under 38 percent from the floor in their last two games. "It's just disappointing," Northwestern guard Bryant McIntosh told reporters. "I'm just kind of questioning what's going through everybody else's head."

TV: 9 p.m. ET, BTN

ABOUT MINNESOTA (13-4, 2-2 Big Ten): Nate Mason showed no ill effects of an ankle injury that caused him to miss a game in late December as he scored 22 points and dished out nine assists in the loss to Indiana. Jordan Murphy added 18 points and 10 rebounds to extend his double-double streak to 17 games in a row to start the season and needs one more to break the record set by former San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan at Wake Forest in 1996-97. Amir Coffey, who is averaging 14.1 points and 4.1 rebounds, missed the loss to Indiana with a shoulder injury and is out for the foreseeable future.

ABOUT NORTHWESTERN (10-7, 1-3 Big Ten): McIntosh went 4-of-6 from 3-point range en route to a team-high 18 points and dished out four assists against Penn State after missing the previous game with a knee injury. McIntosh needs one more start to move past Alex Olah (114) for sixth place on the program's all-time list and is currently tied for ninth for most career 3-pointers with 159. Scottie Lindsey's struggles from the floor continued as he was limited to nine points on 3-of-17 shooting and is 12-for-52 over his last four games.

TIP-INS

1. Northwestern has won three of the last four meetings with Minnesota.

2. McIntosh is 31-of-32 from the free-throw line this season.

3. Mason needs 12 points to move past Tommy Davis (1,481) in eighth place on Minnesota's all-time scoring list.

PREDICTION: Minnesota 74, Northwestern 71