MINNEAPOLIS Minnesota (10-12, 3-7B1G) will be back on the road to face No. 5/6 Indiana (14-3, 6-1 B1G), Thursday night at Assembly Hall The first Minnesota game of February can be streamed on B1G+. Fans can also listen live on KFAN+, with Justin Gaard or Lynnette Sjoquist.
ABOUT THIS GAME
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No. 5/6 Indiana will be the Gophers’ second matchup against an AP Top 5 team (No. 2 UConn and the third against an AP Top 10 team (No. 2 UConn, No. 10 Maryland).
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On Thursday, Minnesota and Indiana will meet. The Gophers hold a 37-34 lead over Indiana in the all-time series.
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Minnesota’s.521 win rate against Indiana is the third-best against any team it has faced at minimum 20 times in its history. It is only bettered by its.566 score (47-36 against Wisconsin) and its.530 percentage (33-51) against Michigan.
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Indiana comes into the game with a record of 14-3 on the season, and 6-1 in league play. This is after a 65-50 loss against then-No. 6/7 Michigan on January 31. The Hoosiers had previously lost three games against Illinois, Iowa, and Michigan State in consecutive weeks. Indiana has only played one game since Jan. 17.
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Five Hoosiers have averaging double figures, with Mackenzie averaging 17.9 per game this year and 19.3 in four conference matches. Grace Berger (14.9), Ali Patberg (12.1) and Aleksa Gulbe (111.3) all have double-digit averages. Nicole Cardano–Hillary (11.2).
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With 237 turnovers this season, Indiana is the 31st-best Big Ten team. At 58.2, the team is second in scoring defense, which ranks them 59th in the NCAA.
GOPHER NOTABLES
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The Golden Gophers just won a thrilling 57-55 victory over Wisconsin on Sunday afternoon. The team is led by Sara Scalia’s The Gopher defense held firm to win their second victory over the Badgers with 16 points. With 50.4 seconds remaining, the Gophers were up 57 to 54 with three free throws. Wisconsin scored one of their two next possessions to make it a 2-point game. With 9.0 seconds remaining, Wisconsin got the ball back. Sydney Hilliard from Wisconsin drove to the hoop and was met by Deja Winters She swatted away her third block for the day. Wisconsin took the ball back with just four seconds remaining, but Brooke Schramek scored a layup that rolled off of the rim to give Minnesota the two-point victory at home.
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Sara Scalia Her streak of double-digit scoring was extended to 12 games with her performance against Purdue. Scalia is among six Big Ten players that have at least 12 consecutive double-figures scoring streaks. Scalia averaged 19.3 points per contest during the streak. She is shooting 43.6 percent (3-of-103) from three and averages 3.8 made threes per match. Scalia is currently ranked 11th in the Big Ten for scoring average (16.1), and eight in Big Ten play at 17.1 point per game.
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Minnesota’s team has the 2nd-best three-point field-goal percentage in the Big Ten, at 36.9, which is also the best in the NCAA. The average Maroon and Gold makes 8.4 threes per match, which is good enough to be the 28th-best mark in the country and the third-best in the conference. The team made 185 threes, which is the highest total in the Big Ten and 12th in the country.
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Student in graduate program Gadiva Hubbard She returned to the starting line-up against Wisconsin and produced one of her finest all-around performances. In the win, she scored 10 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and had seven assists. Her career record of nine rebounds and seven assists was her best. She also had the season’s highest number of assists with seven. Hubbard didn’t turn the ball over and only one steal took place in the victory. She was on the floor for 34 minutes.
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Guard Deja Winters She has proven that she is one the Big Ten’s most influential grad transfers this year. Averaging 11.5 points per game. Winters has also been the best Gophers on-ball defender this year. Her 35 steals (1.6% per game) lead the team. She also ranks 12th in Big Ten. Winters’ 23 total blocks (1.0/game) rank eighth in conference.
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Head coach Lindsay Whalen He was named as a candidate in the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2018. Whalen is now eligible to vote for her time as an athlete. Whalen had a great college career, leading the Maroon and Gold Maroon and Gold to a Final Four appearance. She also won numerous championships with the U.S. National Team and in the WNBA. The NBA All-Star Weekend will see the finalist announcement in Cleveland, Ohio on Friday February 18.
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The four Minnesota signees from the 2022 signing class were all nominated by McDonald’s All-America Games last week. Those future Golden Gophers include Mara Braun (Wayzata, Minn.), Amaya Battle (Hopkins, Minn.), Mallory Heyer (Chaska Minn. Niamya Holloway (Eden Prairie, Minn.).
BY THE NUMBERS
185 – The Gophers now have 181 3-point field goals this season, surpassing the 2008-09 Gophers’ record of 77%. Only nine are left behind the sixth-most (2013-14).
8 – Sara Scalia At 17.1 points per match, he is the eighth-highest scoring Big Ten individual.
12 – Sara Scalia She has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games, just one shy of her longest streak in her career (13).
3 – Deja Winters For the third season in a row against Wisconsin, he finished with three blocks. He also had a clutch block with four seconds remaining to help him win the game over the Badgers.
6 – Six different starting lineups have been used by the Maroons and Gold in 20 games this season.
20 – Student in Grad Gadiva Hubbard Moved into seventh place in total games played against Purdue (1/27). She is currently just 20 minutes away of passing Kiara Buford (2008)-12 for sixth most.
Minnesota will be returning home to face Michigan State in its second matchup this season (12-8, 3-3 B1G) at 2 p.m. CT. You can stream the game on B1G+ or listen on KFAN+.
NOTE: From Wednesday, January 26, 2022 to Wednesday, February 9, 20,22, the University has established a temporary policy for proof of vaccination/test that is applicable to all events. For more information, Please visit this link . This regulation does not apply to student-athletes, coaches and team support staff as well as officials.
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