5:30 p.m. at Ohio State • Value City Arena • FS1 • (100.3 FM)
A dearth of victories in Columbus
Preview: There are four Big Ten teams the Gophers (10-8, 4-4 in the Big Ten) haven't beaten on the road since Richard Pitino took over the program in 2013. Ohio State, Indiana, Michigan and Nebraska have been tough places to win in the Pitino era, but the struggles in Columbus go back even further. Minnesota's longest current Big Ten road losing streak is in Columbus at 10 consecutive games. The Gophers haven't won at Ohio State since 2005. … The Buckeyes (12-6, 2-5) have lost five of their last six games, but their lone victory was 80-68 at home last week against Nebraska.
Players to watch: Gophers center Daniel Oturu has scored at least 19 points in 11 of the past 12 games. The only game during that stretch he failed to reach that mark was with 14 points and 13 rebounds in Minnesota's 84-71 victory Dec. 15 against then-No. 3 Ohio State at home. Oturu had 17 of his 19 points in the second half of Sunday's 64-56 loss at Rutgers. … Ohio State freshman guard D.J. Carton had a career-high 19 points in the loss to the Gophers last month. Carton, who averages 10.1 points and 3.1 assists, has scored in double figures in three of his past four games.
Numbers: The Gophers have three of the top six players in minutes played in Big Ten games. Marcus Carr (38.8) and Oturu (37.1) are first and third in the league; Gabe Kalscheur (36.0) is sixth.
marcus fuller
