University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Gophers vs. Ohio State
2/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| Minnesota vs. No. 5 Ohio State | |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, Feb. 24 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Live Video | BTN Plus |
| Radio | KBEM 88.5 FM | Listen Online |
| Live Stats | |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Ohio State |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Ohio State |
| Social Media | @GopherWBB | Facebook |
| Clips | Senior sendoff (GopherSports) |
| WNBA players comment on Banham (ESPN) | |
| Banham on BTN live (BTN) | |
| Emotional sendoff for the Mullaneys (Fox 9) | |
The Golden Gophers (18-9, 10-6 Big Ten) are looking to "burst the Barn" for their 2015-16 home finale. No. 5 Ohio State (23-4, 15-1 Big Ten) visits Minneapolis for a Wednesday, Feb. 24 game starting at 7 p.m. Here are five things to watch:
1 The Gophers will honor their three seniors prior to Wednesday's game. All three of them are in Minnesota's career top 10 in at least one category. Rachel Banham's school records include scoring, field goals, free throw percentage and 3-point shots. Shayne Mullaney is No. 3 on the assists list with 531. Mikayla Bailey ranks sixth on the 3-point list with 140. The trio is undefeated against Ohio State at home.
2 In scoring 52 points at Michigan State, Banham became the Big Ten's all-time career scoring leader with 2,921 points. She passed Penn State's Kelly Mazzante's record of 2,919 that stood since 2004. She is 13th on the NCAA all-time list. (Missouri State's Jackie Stiles is first with 3,393 points.) Banham also broke her own Minnesota season record for 3-pointers. She has 97, four more than her previous mark from 2013-14. Banham is nine points from breaking her own season scoring record of 750 set the same year. She is on pace to set the program record for scoring average at a 27.5-point-per-game pace currently. In the month of February, she is averaging 38.7 points and shooting 51.6 percent.
3 Banham (27.5) and Carlie Wagner (19.1) combine to score 46.6 points per game as the No. 1 scoring duo in the country. Banham and Wagner have each played 27 games (53 combined) and have a combined 1,259 points. They have more points than Lindsay Whalen (554 in 27 games) and Janel McCarville (548 in 34 games) had in a combined 61 games (1,102 points) during the Gophers' 2003-04 Final Four season. Against the Buckeyes, Banham and Wagner will square off against another of the nation's top pairs of scorers in Kelsey Mitchell (24.6) and Ameryst Alston (19.5), who combine for 44.1 ppg.
4 Minnesota faces the most difficult end to the conference season of any team in the Big Ten. The Gophers recently played at Indiana, which is undefeated at home, and then-No. 25/22 Michigan State. They take on the league's top two teams in No. 5 Ohio State (home) and No. 6 Maryland (away). Wednesday will be Minnesota's first matchup with a top-five team since facing No. 1 Baylor on Dec. 4, 2011. The Gophers' last top-five win was March 6, 2005, against No. 3 Ohio State.
5 Minnesota is five 3-pointers from setting a new conference-only Big Ten team record. The Gophers have 146 triples in league play, behind only Ohio State's record from last year.
Scouting the Buckeyes
• Ohio State sits atop the Big Ten standings with a 15-1 record. The Buckeyes' only conference loss came at Northwestern last month. They are currently riding an 11-game winning streak.
• Outside of their top two scorers in Mitchell and Alston, the Buckeyes have two additional players averaging double figures. Shayla Cooper contributes 13.9 points per game, and Alexa Hart adds 11.9. Hart is shooting 66 percent from the floor.
• Cooper and Hart are Ohio State's top rebounders, averaging 8.6 and 7.7 caroms, respectively.
• Like the Gophers, the Buckeyes are on pace for a school-record scoring average. They are scoring at an 87.3-point-per-game clip.
• The Minnesota-Ohio State connection is strong as Minnesota associate head coach Nikita Lowry Dawkins is in the Buckeyes' hall of fame and head coach Marlene Stollings played her first couple years of college basketball there.
