Michigan State basketball<\/a> has another very similar game on the horizon. The Spartans just beat an average Rutgers team in a game that was a must-win. This same sentiment exists as Minnesota comes to town on Thursday night. A win doesn\u2019t help the resume much, but a loss would cripple it.<\/p>\n Before the game gets here, let\u2019s get to know the Minnesota Golden Gophers.<\/p>\n Minnesota comes into this game with a 12-5 record overall and a 3-3 Big Ten mark. Both records may not seem so bad, but the quality of the wins is lacking. The Gophers do not have a great win on their resume so far this season. Their best win arguably came against Nebraska, 76-65. Now I don\u2019t want to sound tone deaf because MSU did lose to Nebraska, but it\u2019s not a good sign if the Cornhuskers are your best win.<\/p>\n Minnesota\u2019s other two conference wins came against Michigan and Maryland, two more teams not having great seasons. Minnesota also has one horrendous loss this season, losing to San Francisco in late November 76-58.<\/p>\n The Gophers are also riding a two-game losing streak after suffering back-to-back defeats against Indiana and Iowa. So after a solid start to the season, the Gophers appear to be coming down to earth. The Spartans may be catching them at the right time as they’re coming off a solid win over Rutgers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Minnesota is led by junior forward Dawson Garcia who averages 17.4 points per game. He is also the Gophers’ leading rebounder with 7.4 per game. The Gophers have three other scorers averaging double figures this season, including Joshua Ola-Joseph. He is averaging 11 points per game, but what makes him more dangerous is his 3-point shooting. Joshua is shooting 48.1% from behind the arc this season, but that is only on 1.6 attempts per game. So he is not a high-volume shooter, but he is efficient when he does get shots up.<\/p>\nMinnesota’s season in review<\/h3>\n
Key players to watch<\/h3>\n