Gophers men's basketball vs. Florida Gulf Coast game preview, broadcast info and analysis

Gophers vs. Florida Gulf Coast: 11 a.m. Saturday at Williams Arena

TV; radio: BTN, 100.3 FM

Pregame reading: Coach Ben Johnson is calling Wednesday's victory over Nebraska the most important win of his time with the Gophers.

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Opening bell: The Gophers (6-3, 1-1 in the Big Ten) trailed by 20 points at Ohio State and 17 vs. Nebraska to begin conference play. Slow starts nearly cost them both games, but the Gophers outscored Nebraska 52-26 in the second half in Wednesday's 76-65 victory at home. The goal now is to keep the momentum going in the four-game home stretch that ends the nonconference season. Saturday's opponent Florida Gulf Coast (3-7) has only one victory against a Division I opponent, 68-65 against Florida International on Nov. 29. The Eagles, who play in the Atlantic Sun Conference, lost by six points at Indiana in the season opener.

Watch him: Florida Gulf Coast senior forward Keeshawn Kellman has scored 41 points combined on 19-for-25 shooting in the past two games, including 23 points in a loss to Cincinnati. Off a minutes restriction as he recovered from a foot injury, Gophers big man Pharrel Payne has scored in double figures in three of the past four games, including 12 points in a season-high 35 minutes vs. Nebraska.

Injuries: Gophers leading scorer Dawson Garcia (left ankle) will miss the game after being injured in the first half vs. Nebraska. Purdue transfer Isaiah Thompson is day-to-day for Gulf Coast after missing the last game with flu-like symptoms.

Forecast: Ben Johnson challenged his Gophers to respond to Garcia's injury and step up to replace their injured leader vs. Nebraska. The Gophers just played their best second half of the season. Doing that without Garcia required balanced scoring; five players ended up in double figures. Can they repeat that?

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