Gophers looking to end five-game losing streak in game at Rutgers

GOPHERS MEN'S BASKETBALL GAMEDAY

7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Rutgers • BTN, 100.3-FM

Gophers update: Minnesota (7-13, 1-9 Big Ten) enters Wednesday's game at Rutgers with its second five-game losing streak this season. The Gophers are looking to avoid their longest conference losing streak since dropping their last seven regular-season games in Richard Pitino's final season in 2020-21. Ben Johnson won his only meeting with the Scarlet Knights last year, but the Gophers haven't won on the road in the series since 2017. Leading scorer Dawson Garcia will be a game-time decision with a bone bruise in his right foot suffered in a Jan. 22 loss at Michigan. Freshman big man Pharrel Payne returned from concussion protocol to play in Saturday's 81-61 loss at Northwestern. Sophomore 7-footer Treyton Thompson suffered a broken nose against the Wildcats, but he's available to play.

Rutgers update: The Scarlet Knights (14-7, 6-4) were ranked No. 23 in the nation earlier this month after winning seven of eight games, including an upset over No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 2. They've come down to earth a bit since then, losing two of the past three games. The Big Ten's top defensive team surprisingly gave up 93 points in Sunday's 11-point loss at Iowa. Rutgers also committed 18 turnovers against the Hawkeyes. In last season's 68-65 loss at Williams Arena, Rutgers played against a Gophers team with only seven scholarship players. Cliff Omoruyi, who leads the team with 13.4 points per game this season, scored only four points on 1-for-5 shooting.