Gophers men's basketball: 'Super Saturday' preview vs. Ohio State, in New York City
January 20, 2018 at 5:04AM
11 a.m. vs. No. 22 Ohio State • Madison Square Garden, New York
TV; radio: BTN; 1130-AM, 103.5 FM
Watch Murphy vs. Bates-Diop
Preview: The Gophers (14-7, 3-5 Big Ten) play their third game in New York this season Saturday after beating Massachusetts and Alabama in the Barclays Center Classic in November. That was when the Gophers were ranked and unbeaten. Now they are down two starters and have four losses in five games without Reggie Lynch and Amir Coffey. No. 22 Ohio State (16-4, 7-0) is the biggest surprise in the Big Ten, a projected 10th-place team contending for a title after beating Michigan State, Michigan and Maryland.
Players to watch: The Gophers' Jordan Murphy and Ohio State's Keita Bates-Diop are both 6-7 junior forwards and Big Ten Player of the Year candidates. Murphy had the early edge after leading the league in scoring and rebounding at midseason. His numbers dropped in conference play, but Murphy still is averaging 18.1 points and a league-best 12.1 rebounds. Bates-Diop now leads the conference in scoring (19.8) and is third in rebounding (8.8). His most memorable performance was a 32-point game in a Jan. 7 home rout of then-No. 1 Michigan State.
Numbers: Ohio State leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (79.4) and ranks second in scoring defense (63.6) in league games.
MARCUS FULLER
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The Nittany Lions converted on three fourth downs while protecting a one-point lead to keep the Gophers from getting the ball back.
