GAME NOTES: The Minnesota Golden Gophers will try put a stop to their three- game home losing streak today, as they entertain the Iowa Hawkeyes in Big Ten play at Williams Arena. The Gophers enter the contest fresh off their most convincing league victory of the season, a 92-72 drubbing of Northwestern on Wednesday. It was the second win in the past three games for Minnesota, which improved to 14-7 overall and 4-5 in conference action. The Gophers now return home, where they have suffered three straight defeats since opening the season a perfect 8-0 at Williams Arena. As for Iowa, it gave nationally-ranked Wisconsin all it could handle, but it just didn't have enough to spring the upset in a 60-54 setback on Wednesday. The team has alternated wins and losses over its last eight outings, leaving the club with an 11-13 overall mark and a 4-7 conference ledger. The Hawkeyes haven't fared particularly well on the road this season, going just 2-5, including only 1-4 against league foes. In terms of the all-time series, Minnesota owns a 94-88 edge over Iowa, but the Hawkeyes have captured the last three encounters.

The Hawkeyes were held to a sub par 35.4 percent shooting effort from the field and that was too much to overcome in a six-point loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday. Iowa drained 7-of-20 attempts from long distance and 13-of-17 at the foul line to keep things close, but it still wasn't enough in the end. Tony Freeman nailed 5-of-13 three-pointers and he finished with 18 points for the Hawkeyes, while Cyrus Tate had 15 points and eight boards. For the season, Freeman leads the club in scoring at 14.9 ppg and he is dishing out 3.1 apg and shooting 38.5 percent from beyond the arc. Justin Johnson has formed a sold one-two punch with him, as he contributes 13.0 ppg and 5.0 rpg. As a team, Iowa relies heavily on its defense to stay in games, holding opponents to just 57.4 ppg and only 40.2 percent shooting from the floor.

The Gophers connected on 12-of-23 shots from three-point range and 22-of-29 at the foul line, as they coasted past Northwestern on Wednesday. The squad also shot a solid 56.9 percent from the field, in addition to dominating the boards, 38-17. Spencer Tollackson led the charge with 19 points on a perfect 7- of-7 shooting from the floor. Lawrence McKenzie posted 16 points off the bench, and Lawrence Westbrook notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Dan Coleman had 10 points and eight boards, and he still leads the team in both scoring (13.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.6 rpg) on the season. McKenzie is next with 11.2 ppg and he is dishing out 3.2 apg, while Tollackson contributes 10.9 ppg and 4.3 rpg. Overall, the Gophers have done a solid job at the offensive end of the court, knocking down 46.3 percent of their field goals for a 73.3 ppg average.

Minnesota is coming off an impressive performance and it should be able to use another balanced effort to outlast a scrappy Iowa squad today.