Who’s Playing
Minnesota Golden Gophers @ Wichita State Shockers
Current Records: Minnesota 5-1, Wichita State 5-0
How To Watch
What to Know
Minnesota has played every game this season on their home court, but they’ll have to hit the road on Thursday. They will face off against the Wichita State Shockers at 12:00 p.m. ET at State Farm Field House. The Golden Gophers’ defense has only allowed 57.2 points per game this season, so the Shockers’ offense will have their work cut out for them.
If Wichita State heads into halftime all tied up, they better play a good second half: that’s when Minnesota took over last week. Minnesota sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 68-65 win over Central Michigan on Monday.
Minnesota can attribute much of their success to Dawson Garcia, who dropped a double-double on 22 points and 11 rebounds. Garcia’s performance made up for a slower match against Clev. State on Tuesday. Lu’Cye Patterson was another key player, earning 19 points.
Minnesota was working as a unit and finished the game with 17 assists. The team’s really been improving in that area: they’ve now improved their assist total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Wichita State entered their tilt with Saint Louis on Friday with four consecutive wins but they’ll enter their next game with five. They put the hurt on the Billikens with a sharp 88-63 victory. The oddsmakers were on the Shockers’ side, but they didn’t give the squad enough credit as the margin was unexpectedly wide.
Wichita State’s win was the result of several impressive offensive performances. One of the most notable came from AJ McGinnis, who scored 12 points. McGinnis had some trouble finding his footing against Monmouth last Monday, so this was a step in the right direction. The team also got some help courtesy of Corey Washington, who had 13 points in addition to eight rebounds.
Minnesota pushed their record up to 5-1 with the win, which was their third straight at home. As for Wichita State, their victory bumped their record up to 5-0.
Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Minnesota hasn’t given up the ball easily this season, having only averaged 10.2 turnovers per game. However, it’s not like Wichita State struggles in that department as they’ve been averaging only 9.2. Given these competing strengths, it’ll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.
