It has been a roller coaster ride so far this season for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Arguably playing its toughest stretch of the season, Minnesota will definitely be tested when No. 11 Michigan State comes to town on Sunday. The Gophers are coming off a 62-59 comeback win against Ohio State, while Michigan State lost 67-63 to Indiana in its last game. Against the Gophers at home on Jan. 9, the Spartans won 74-58.
Michigan State vs. Minnesota
When: Sunday, January 26
Time: 3:00 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Live Stream: fuboTV (watch for free)
Minnesota (11-8, 5-4) was down by nine points going into halftime vs. Buckeyes on Thursday but outscored OSU 34-22 in the second half to grab the win. It marked the team’s first win in Columbus since 2005. Marcus Carr led the team with 21 points and had seven rebounds. He was helped by the play of Daniel Oturu, who played closer to the basket that opened driving lanes for Carr. In the first game of the season vs. MSU, the Gophers were led by Oturo, who had a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Alihan Demir and Carr also scored in double digits. Since that game, the Gophers have a 3-1 record in conference play.
The Spartans (14-5, 6-2) fell behind by 15 points in the opening 11 minutes at Indiana and could never come back, even though they had the chance to win late in Thursday’s loss. What kept the team close was the play of Cassius Winston, who had 13 of his 17 points in the second half. Michigan State rallied by making its first six 3-point attempts in the second half and took a 51-48 lead with 11:05 to go. It remained a one-possession game the rest of the way. In the first game against Minnesota, Winston led all scorers with 27 points and had six assists. The team also got great production from Xavier Tillman, who scored 19 points. MSU needs to play better in the opening minutes to win. If not, the team could fall to 1-3 over the last four games.
