Northwestern finally has a chance to defend its home court against a Big Ten opponent. The Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-2, 1-1 Big Ten) are in Evanston for what should be a tight matchup between two up-and-coming conference foes. Minnesota is coming off of a shocking road upset of No. 15 Purdue, while the Wildcats (12-3, 1-1) will look to bounce back after their 9-game winning streak was snapped by Michigan State in East Lansing last week.
These aren’t the 2015-16 Gophers. That group won just eight games all season, posting an ugly 2-16 mark in conference.