Really, for a 12th seeded team that suffered through a two-month losing streak, Northwestern couldn’t ask for a much better draw in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Wildcats, winners of three straight and coming off of a thrilling 79-78 victory over Nebraska, will open tournament play in Indianapolis on Wednesday against 13th-seeded Minnesota (5:30 pm CT). Not only did Northwestern (9-14, 6-13 Big Ten) just beat Minnesota (13-14, 6-14) two weeks ago, but the Gophers are riding a seven-game losing streak and will be missing two key starters.
If the suddenly surging Wildcats win that one, they will advance to face fifth-seeded Ohio State. The Buckeyes (18-8, 12-8) are ranked ninth in the nation and certainly will be heavily favored, but they have lost their last five games, too. The Wildcats beat them once, back in December. OSU won the rematch last month, but even then, Northwestern pulled to within one point in the last five minutes before losing by 10.
Should the Wildcats manage to get by Ohio State, they will…well, let’s not get a head of ourselves.
Minnesota enters the tournament reeling. The Gophers were sitting pretty at 13-7 after beating Purdue on Feb. 11 in Minneapolis. Then, the bottom fell out and they haven’t won since.
Gophers head coach Richard Pitino announced on Tuesday that his team will play Northwestern without two key starters that they have missed dearly during their free fall.
Center Liam Robbins is their rim protector and the best shot blocker in the Big Ten. He averages 11.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game but has missed four games with a sprained left ankle.
Guard Gabe Kalscheur, who averages 9.2 points per game and is known as Minnesota’s best perimeter defender, has been sidelined for the last five games after breaking a finger on his right, shooting hand on Feb. 16.
Northwestern beat Minnesota without both Robbins and Kalscheur, 67-59, in Minneapolis, on Feb. 25. It was the win that snapped the Wildcats’ epic 13-game losing streak.
Boo Buie scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half to spark the Wildcats, who managed to win despite committing 19 turnovers and trailing for most of the game. Miller Kopp finished with 15 points, while Ryan Young chipped in with eight.
Northwestern turned the ball over eight times in the first eight minutes as Minnesota jumped out to a 17-3 lead, but the Wildcats ripped off a 16-2 run to tie it at 19 and trailed by six points, 31-25, at the break.
In the second half, the Wildcats took charge, coming up with six steals and attacking the rim to draw fouls. Northwestern built a four-point lead when Buie hit the biggest shot of the night, a triple from five feet beyond the arc with 1:37 to go to give the Wildcats a 58-51 lead. The Cats then hit eight straight free throws down the stretch to seal the win.
Marcus Carr, who scored 21 points against Northwestern the first time around, will again be the go-to-guy for the Gophers on Wednesday. The 6-foot-2 point guard leads Minnesota and is the third-best scorer in the Big Ten at 19.6 points per game. He poured in 41 points against Nebraska on Feb. 27, tied for the third-most in program history, but is coming off of a season-low seven-point effort against Rutgers in which he hit just one of 13 shots. Carr also leads the Gophers with 4.8 assists per game.
Northwestern played Minnesota in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament last season, losing 74-57 on the last night of basketball before the Big Ten Tournament was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Wildcats have played the Gophers seven times since the conference tourney began in 1988, more than they’ve played any other team. Minnesota has won five of the seven games.
