Gophers-Ohio State women's basketball preview (Big Ten tournament)

Approximately 8 p.m. vs. Ohio State • BTN, 96.7-FM

Buckeyes have had U's number

Gophers update: The Gophers used a dynamic second half to beat Penn State 85-65 Wednesday as members of the Buckeyes watched from the stands. But that's the life for a team that finishes in the bottom four in conference play. Minnesota got strong games from several players. Senior G Jasmine Brunson had a career-high 20 points, making four of seven three-pointers, with six assists and two steals. Freshman G Jasmine Powell had 16 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. Senior F Taiye Bello had 16 points and 13 rebounds, pushing past 1,000 boards for her career, and needs 33 points to reach 1,000. Gadiva Hubbard made four of six threes on the way to 16 points. The Gophers are 0-2 vs. Ohio State this year. They led the Buckeyes by four with 2:55 left at home Dec. 31 before being outscored 7-0 the rest of the game. In the rematch in Columbus on Feb. 13, the Buckeyes won 99-76. "There have been a handful of games this year we felt got away from us,'' Gophers coach Lindsay Whalen said. "And that was one of them. They are a great team, a great coach.''

Buckeyes update: Ohio State was 7-2 over the second half of its Big Ten schedule, but that's a little misleading. They had a six-game winning streak end with back-to-back losses to Rutgers and conference co-champ Northwestern before finishing the regular season with a 77-56 victory at Purdue. Ohio State has won seven consecutive games between the two teams; nobody currently either coaching or playing for the Gophers was around the last time Minnesota beat the Buckeyes, in overtime, in February of 2016. They are led by sophomore F Dorka Juhasz (13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds per game), who was a consensus first-team all-conference pick.

KENT YOUNGBLOOD