Tonight's 7 p.m. EST match-up between the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (24-3, 12-2 B-10) and the unranked Golden Gophers of Minnesota comes with a flurry of implications.
Minnesota (18-9, 6-8 B-10), coming off a miserable 71-45 beating at the hands of the Ohio State Buckeyes, needs to win this game to have a shot at making the Big Dance in March.
Ranked 8th in the nation the last time they faced the Hoosiers, the Golden Gophers will have to rely on their defense to stop the powerful Indiana offense lead by Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller.
A victory tonight would put Indiana two-games ahead of the Michigan State Spartans in the Big Ten Conference, as the team eyes its first outright Big Ten championship since the 1992-93 season and the days of Bobby Knight.
But don't count the Gophers out.
In their last meeting on Jan. 12, the then 5th ranked Hoosiers escaped with an 88-81 victory over the surging Minnesota offense.
On the other side of the ball, the Gophers frequently trapped the Indiana offense during the second half, pulling themselves within striking distance, but it just wasn't enough.
Tonight, perhaps it will be the motivation of March Madness that will inspire the Golden Gophers to pull off the upset. Perhaps it will be the potential to win the Big Ten title that will fuel the Hoosiers to fend off the slumping Minnesota team.
Either way, with Indiana's Cody Zeller averaging more than 16 points per game (16.6 ppg) and Minnesota's Andre (13.6 ppg) and Austin (11.1 ppg) Hollins combining for an average of nearly 25 points per game, the score should definitely mimic their last meeting.
Having scored five 3-pointers and 25 total pointers in the Jan. 12 game against the Hoosiers, look for Andre Hollins to step up his game and boost the weak perimeter play typical of the Gophers, as of late.
Down low, it will be the inside play of Williams and Mbakwe that will determine whether or not the second and third chances will be around for the Minnesota shooters.
It will be difficult though, with Indiana coming off of a solid 72-68 performance that saw them take down the other contender for the Big Ten title, Michigan State.
TV Info:
Live Broadcast of the game will be provided by ESPN.
Live Streaming:
Live stream of the game will be provided by ESPN here (service provider required).
Favorites:
The Hoosiers are 6.5-point road favorites for this match.
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