NU looking for first Big Ten win

Posted February 05, 2008 10:00 pm

By Lindsey Willhite

Minnesota (13-7, 3-5) at Northwestern (7-12, 0-8)

When: 6 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: The Wildcats haven't started the Big Ten season this badly since 2001, when Bill Carmody's first NU team needed 11 games to get its first league victory. Northwestern showed improvement last week when it knocked off Texas-Pan American and then fought nearly even at Indiana for 30 minutes before losing by 12. Minnesota has gone 2-4 since beating NU 82-63 in Minneapolis on Jan. 9, but the Gophers have shown well on the road. Since Minnesota ranks second in the nation in steals and Northwestern ranks second in the league in steals, this should be a game that favors the team that figures out how to hang on to the ball. Oh, and the Wildcats need to figure out a way to slow down Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson in the post. They combined for 31 points and 18 rebounds the first time around.

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