Gophers gameday: Men's basketball team plays host to Northwestern

3 p.m. vs. Northwestern • Williams Arena • Big Ten Network, 100.3 FM

Preview: The Gophers (12-12, 3-12 in the Big Ten) already lost twice this week in a stretch of three games in five days that ends Saturday against Northwestern at home. Minnesota's back-to-back road losses at Ohio State (70-45) and Penn State (67-46) were the first consecutive games scoring under 50 points since the 2013-14 season. The Wildcats (12-12, 5-10) had three straight wins before falling to Illinois and Purdue in their past two games.

Players to watch: Sophomore Jamison Battle was the only Gophers player in double figures, with 16 points on 6-for-15 shooting, in Thursday's loss at Penn State. The rest of the team shot 11-for-38. Northwestern's Robbie Beran became the sixth different player to lead the Wildcats in scoring, with 13 points in a 70-64 loss Wednesday vs. Purdue.

Numbers: In the second half of the past two games, Ohio State and Penn State combined to shoot 61% from the field (33-for-54), but the Gophers shot just 29.4% (15-for-51) combined after halftime.