#21 Gophers vs #6 Badgers (3:30 PM): Early Tip, Stats and Keys to Victory
This blog is a last-minute reminder to #21 Minnesota Gopher basketball fans. Because it’s New Year’s Eve, today’s game at the Kohl Center vs the #6 Wisconsin Badgers tips off at a very weird time, 3:30 PM.
Make sure you pick your kids up early from daycare and that you have your dinner pre-planned. You will not want to miss this matchup. The Golden Gophers will be vying for their 3rd straight top-20 win.
Closing out 2020 with a #BorderBattle.
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 31, 2020
3:30pm | @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/QPQXF3kRkC
Another ranked game, another ranked win ????????@GopherMBB picks up back-to-back AP Top 25 wins for the first time since 2013 pic.twitter.com/alRlbh18rG
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 29, 2020
(8-2) Wisconsin Big Wins / Losses
| Big Wins | Score | Losses | Score | |
| #23 Louisville | 85-48 | @ Marquette | 65-67 | |
| @ #12 Michigan State | 85-76 | Maryland | 64-70 |
(9-1) Minnesota Big Wins / Losses
| Big Wins | Score | Losses | Score | |
| Saint Louis | 90-82 | @ #13 Illinois | 65-92 | |
| #4 Iowa | 102-95 | |||
| @ #17 Michigan State | 81-56 |
Odds (BetOnline.ag – 11:30 AM CT)
| Spread | Line | O/U |
| WIS: – 8.5 | WIS: – 400 | 139 |
Key Players
| P | # | Wisconsin | PTS | AST | REB | P | # | Minnesota | PTS | AST | REB | |
| G | 0 | D’Mitrik Trice | 14.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 | G | 5 | Marcus Carr | 24.0 | 6.1 | 3.8 | |
| F | 11 | Micah Potter | 12.2 | 1.8 | 6.9 | C | 0 | Liam Robbins | 13.1 | 0.8 | 6.8 | |
| G | 34 | Brad Davison | 10.6 | 2.8 | 2.9 | G | 11 | Both Gach | 11.7 | 3.5 | 6.3 | |
| F | 35 | Nate Reuvers | 10.3 | 0.8 | 3.9 | G | 22 | Gabe Kalscheur | 9.3 | 2.3 | 2.3 |
Big Ten Team Stats (thru 3 games)
| Per Gm Stats | Minnesota | B1G Rank | Wisconsin | B1G Rank | |
| FG Attempts | 66.3 | 1st | 54.0 | 13th | |
| FG % | .397 | 12th | .451 | 7th | |
| 3PT Attempts | 32.0 | 1st | 22.0 | 8th | |
| 3PT % | .313 | 11th | .364 | 6th | |
| FT Attempts | 26.0 | 1st | 20.0 | 5th | |
| FT % | .769 | 4th | .767 | 5th | |
| Rebounds | 41.7 | 2nd | 32.7 | 9th | |
| Assists | 16.7 | 6th | 14.7 | 8th | |
| Steals | 5.0 | 7th | 3.3 | 13th | |
| Blocks | 5.0 | 1st | 2.0 | 11th | |
| Turnovers | 10.3 | 5th | 8.3 | 3rd | |
| Points | 82.7 | 3rd | 72.0 | 8th |
Big Ten Opponent Team Stats (thru 3 games)
| Per Gm Stats | Minnesota | B1G Rank | Wisconsin | B1G Rank | |
| FG Attempts | 70.7 | 14th | 54.3 | 1st | |
| FG % | .382 | 2nd | .436 | 7th | |
| 3PT Attempts | 24.7 | 11th | 18.3 | 2nd | |
| 3PT % | .311 | 3rd | .400 | 13th | |
| FT Attempts | 27.0 | 14th | 16.0 | 3rd | |
| Rebounds | 48.0 | 14th | 31.0 | 3rd | |
| Turnovers | 9.0 | 4th | 10.7 | 8th | |
| Points | 81.0 | 12th | 66.3 | 3rd |
Keys to a Minnesota Gophers win
Control pace of play
It doesn’t take a basketball scientist to look at the numbers above and see that Wisconsin and Minnesota play completely different styles of basketball. The Gophers want to run and shoot a lot. They lead the Big Ten in points, FG attempts and 3PT attempts, even while they are near the bottom of the league in shooting percentages.
The Badgers hate running. They play like a classic Wisconsin team stuck in molasses. They don’t score very often but they don’t allow points either. I expect Wisconsin guards to continuously try to slow play, while Marcus Carr pushes the pace like he always does.
Wing Shooting
If the Gopher wings could shoot at all from behind the 3PT line in Big Ten play then all of the shooting stats above for Minnesota would be completely different. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case. Gabe Kalscheur is shooting just 18% from 3PT and Both Gach has been inconsistent.
If the wing shooting improves, and everything else stays the same, the Gophers will win this game easily.
Another big day for Robbins
Much like the Spartans, the Badgers don’t have anyone who can matchup with Liam Robbins down low. He’s 3 inches and a lot of bulk bigger than any of their interior defenders. If Robbins can find success in the paint early, it could be a long night for the Badgers defense, especially if outside shooters are connecting from outside too.
Minnesotans everywhere
Most of Wisconsin’s team is Minnesotan. They won’t want to lose to Richard Pitino, who many of them believe slighted them during the recruiting process. That always brings more heat to this rivalry. We’ll see how it plays out in the Kohl Center without fans.
Late game Marcus Carr is always the X-factor
This is two really good teams who have a lot of pride and dislike for each other. I expect it to be close. The Gophers hold the advantage in any late close game situations because they have Marcus Carr.
He has the clutch gene and he loves showing it off. By the way, the Minnesota Gophers win this game later today because I just don’t think the Badgers matchup well against them.
vs. Iowa pic.twitter.com/1NI7CbSQlx
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 30, 2020
vs Michigan State pic.twitter.com/vxA5tP3IX0
— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 30, 2020
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan
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