Wildcats Seek Season Sweep of Golden Gophers Tuesday

1/22/2018 4:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball

By: Nick Brilowski

NORTHWESTERN BASKETBALL: GAME DAY INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Tue., Jan. 23	Minnesota	8 p.m.	Williams Arena; Minneapolis, Minn.	BTN and BTN2Go	GameTracker
Radio: 720 WGN (Dave Eanet and Joey Meyer) TV: BTN (Cory Provus and Jon Crispin) Social: Twitter (@NUMensBball and @NU_SportsLIVE) \| Instagram (@numensbball) \| Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern \| Minnesota

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern takes aim at a season sweep of its series with Minnesota on Tuesday when the team square off at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. Tip time is set for 8 p.m.

The game precedes the debut of "First Dance" on Big Ten Network, a documentary that profiles the memorable 2016-17 Northwestern men's basketball season that culminated in the team's first NCAA tournament appearance.

The Wildcats won its first matchup with Minnesota this season, 83-60, Jan. 10 in Rosemont. Bryant McIntosh set a school record with 16 assists in the contest while not committing a turnover. Northwestern had a convincing 45-26 rebounding advantage in the game. Scottie Lindsey scored a game-high 22 points while Dererk Pardon (13 points, 12 rebounds) recorded a double-double.

Northwestern has won six of its last eight meetings with Minnesota, including each of the last three matchups in Minneapolis.

Tuesday's game opens a stretch during which Northwestern plays three straight road games and five of its next six away from home. It the first time the Wildcats have had to play three in a row and five out of six in league play away on the road since the 2002-03 season.

Northwestern is coming off a 70-61 home win over Penn State on Saturday. The Wildcats finished the game on a 15-2 run and held the Nittany Lions without a field goal over the final 10:37 of the contest. Vic Law paced NU with 18 points.

Scouting Minnesota
The Golden Gophers (14-8, 3-6 B1G) have lost five of their last six since starting the season 13-3. Minnesota is coming off a 67-49 loss to Ohio State Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Jordan Murphy had a team-high 13 points in the contest and leads Minnesota with an average of 17.9 points per game and the Big Ten with 11.8 rebounds per game. Murphy had a string of 17 straight double-doubles to open the season snapped in the first meeting with Northwestern Jan. 10. Nate Mason contributes 15.4 points per contest.