No. 8 Michigan State hosts Minnesota after Garcia's 31-point game

Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) at Michigan State Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten)

By The Associated Press

The Associated Press
January 27, 2025 at 8:24AM

Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-9, 3-6 Big Ten) at Michigan State Spartans (17-2, 8-0 Big Ten)

East Lansing, Michigan; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota visits No. 8 Michigan State after Dawson Garcia scored 31 points in Minnesota's 77-69 victory against the Oregon Ducks.

The Spartans have gone 10-0 at home. Michigan State ranks fourth in the Big Ten in team defense, allowing 68.1 points while holding opponents to 39.7% shooting.

The Golden Gophers are 3-6 against conference opponents. Minnesota ranks seventh in the Big Ten with 16.0 assists per game led by Lu'Cye Patterson averaging 3.6.

Michigan State makes 47.5% of its shots from the field this season, which is 4.1 percentage points higher than Minnesota has allowed to its opponents (43.4%). Minnesota averages 6.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 0.2 fewer makes per game than Michigan State allows.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jaden averages 1.4 made 3-pointers per game for the Spartans, scoring 13.7 points while shooting 28.7% from beyond the arc. Jase Richardson is averaging 9.8 points over the last 10 games.

Garcia is averaging 19.7 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Golden Gophers. Mike Mitchell Jr. is averaging 2.5 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Spartans: 10-0, averaging 81.8 points, 38.1 rebounds, 18.7 assists, 5.1 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points per game.

Golden Gophers: 5-5, averaging 74.3 points, 32.2 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 5.5 steals and 5.1 blocks per game while shooting 46.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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