GAME NOTES: The Northwestern Wildcats will take another shot at notching their first Big Ten win of the season tonight, as they host the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Welsh-Ryan Arena. At 0-8, the Wildcats are the only team without a win in Big Ten play this season. The team's struggles continued on Sunday, as it was outlasted at nationally-ranked Indiana, 75-63. It was the fourth loss in the past five outings by Northwestern, which now sits at just 7-12 overall. As for Minnesota, it also enters the contest on a losing note, dropping a 63-47 decision to nationally-ranked Wisconsin on Sunday. The loss was the fourth in the last five games, as the Gophers dipped to 13-7 overall and 3-5 in Big Ten play. The squad now heads back out to the road, where it has gone an even 2-2 against conference foes. Minnesota leads the all-time series with Northwestern, 95-57, and that includes an 82-63 triumph in an earlier clash this year.

The Gophers shot a sub par 36.0 percent from the floor and they committed 18 turnovers in a loss to Wisconsin this past weekend. The team was also outdone from long distance, hitting on just 3-of-8 attempts compared to 7-of-16 by Wisconsin. Lawrence Westbrook paced Minnesota in defeat with 11 points, while Damian Johnson had 10 points and five blocks. Dan Coleman was limited to just nine points, but he still leads the team in both scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.5 rpg) for the season. Lawrence McKenzie ranks second with 11.0 ppg and 3.2 apg, and Spencer Tollackson adds 10.5 ppg to the mix. Overall, Minnesota is turning in a solid 72.4 ppg, while holding its opponents to just 63.0 ppg.

The Wildcats were outscored at the charity stripe, 17-7, and dominated on the boards, 39-20, as there were defeated by Indiana over the weekend. The squad shot a solid 47.9 percent from the floor, including a 10-of-20 effort from downtown, but it just wasn't enough. Craig Moore led Northwestern in the loss with 17 pints and five assists, while Kevin Coble chipped in with 12 points. For the season, Coble is not only the team's top scorer (16.1 ppg) but rebounder (5.8 rpg) as well. Moore is next in order with 12.9 ppg and he followed by Michael Thompson, who produces 12.3 ppg and a team-high 4.8 apg. As a team, the Wildcats are being limited to just 64.2 ppg and they are also getting outrebounding by a whopping 11.3 rpg margin.

Minnesota has been the more successful team and it should be able to use a balanced effort to defeat a less talented Northwestern club tonight.