Gophers Battle Hoosiers Monday Night on BTN

MINNEAPOLIS -- In the first of two games between the teams this season, Minnesota (12-7, 2-6 B1G) visits No. 17/24 Indiana (15-5, 5-3) Monday night. The game, which starts at 5 p.m., can be seen on Big Ten Network and heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 KFAN Plus.

After Monday's meeting in Bloomington, the teams will face off for a second time in Minneapolis on Feb. 22.

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• Minnesota is 5-2 this season in road games, outscoring teams by an average of 73-64. The Gophers opened the season with four straight road wins for the seventh longest such streak in program history. Sara Scalia is the team's top scorer on the road this year at 14.7 points per game, while Taiye Bello is not far behind her at 14.2 and a team-best 9.8 rebounds per road contest. Also in double figures is Gadiva Hubbard (12.7). The team is shooting exceptionally well from long range on 3's, making 42.9 percent on the road.

• The Gophers lead the Big Ten and rank 21st in the country in free throw percentage at 76.3 percent, making 235 of 308 attempts. That figure is on pace to be percentage points better than the school record of .763 (431-565) set in 2009-10. Of the 20 teams ahead of the Gophers, only seven have made more or attempted more free throws. The next closest Big Ten team to Minnesota in percentage is Iowa at 74.7 percent.

• Senior Taiye Bello has posted eight double-doubles this year, including a stretch of four straight at one point. She also has had five other games this year where she was either one point or one rebound away from a double-double. Her eight double-doubles rank second in the Big Ten and are 28th nationally. In her career, Bello has 23 double-doubles to rank sixth in Gophers history, and the Gophers are 20-3 in those games. Though her season averages have dipped slightly below that of a double-double, through Thursday's games, she is still one of just 24 players nationally, and the only one from the Big Ten, with averages of 12.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game this year.

• A two-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, Sara Scalia notched the first double-double of her young career with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds on Jan. 16 against Iowa. She's the first Gopher to have a double-double this year other than Taiye Bello, who has eight. After scoring 22 points (5-7 on 3-pointers) and grabbing seven rebounds in her Big Ten debut at Penn State on Dec. 28, Scalia averaged 6.7 points (4-11 on 3's) and 5.7 rebounds over her next three conference games. She's gotten back on the right track, though, averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 rebounds in her last four games.

• Like Scalia, Minnesota's offense as a whole hit a mini-slump early in the Big Ten season but it seems to have since righted the ship. After scoring 81 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor and 55.6 percent on 3-pointers at Penn State in the conference opener, Minnesota shot 34.8 percent on field goals while averaging 58.3 points over its next three games. However, in the last four contests, the Gophers have averaged 70.0 points per contest while shooting 39.9 percent from the field.

FACING INDIANA

• Minnesota and Indiana will meet for the 69th time on Monday with the Gophers holding a 37-31 lead in the all-time series.

• The .544 win percentage for Minnesota against Indiana is its second best against all teams it has faced at least 20 times in its history, bettered only by its .547 mark against Michigan (35-29).

• The 37 wins are tied for the Gophers' second most against one team along with Northwestern. The only team Minnesota has beaten more is Wisconsin (42).

• In Bloomington, Indiana leads the series 16-15, though Minnesota won the last time the teams met at Assembly Hall a year ago. The .484 win percentage for Minnesota in those games is its second best among teams its played at least 10 times on the road, behind only a .486 mark at Wisconsin (17-18).

• Indiana is 15-5 on the season and 5-3 in the Big Ten. The Hoosiers started the year by winning nine of their first 10 games, including an upset of then-No. 5 South Carolina on Nov. 28. They snapped a three-game streak with a an over Penn State Thursday. All five of Indiana's losses this year have come against teams that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25.

• Four players are averaging double figures with Ali Patberg leading the way at 13.3 points per game. Behind her is Grace Berger (13.2), Mackenzie Holmes (12.2) and Jaelynn Penn (10.1). Brenna Wise is the team's top rebounder at 6.0 boards per contest.

• As a team, Indiana leads the Big Ten and ranks 12th nationally by holding teams to 25.4 percent shooting on 3-pointers, while the team's 394 free throw attempts is also tops in the league and 21st nationally. The Hoosiers are also second in the league in field goal percentage (48.3; 8th nationally), scoring margin (+16.9; 22nd), and opponent field goal percentage (35.5; 31st).

• Holmes is second in the league and fourth in the country with a 67.3 field goal percentage, while Patberg is second in the conference and 13th nationally with 102 assists.

LAST SEASON AGAINST THE HOOSIERS

• Minnesota and Indiana split a pair of games last year with the Gophers winning during the regular season in Bloomington, while the Hoosiers won when the teams met again at the Big Ten Tournament.

• Leading for the majority of the game, Minnesota held off a late charge from Indiana to secure a 65-61 victory on Feb. 6 at Assembly Hall.

• Kenisha Bell was one of three Gophers in double figures as she led all scorers with 22 points and added seven rebounds. Destiny Pitts chipped in with 17 points, while Irene Garrido Perez was perfect from the floor as she made all four shots, including all three 3-pointers to finish with 11 points.

• Taiye Bello pulled down 14 boards, eight of which came on the offensive end. She also scored six points and blocked three shots.

• Leading by eight after the third quarter, Minnesota was up 61-49 with 4:15 left in the game, but Indiana responded with 10 straight points to make it a 61-59 game with just 29 seconds to go. Missed shots by the Hoosiers down the stretch and made free throws by the Gophers, however, kept the game in Minnesota's favor.

• When the teams met again in the postseason, seventh-seeded Minnesota bowed out of the Big Ten Tournament in the second round with a 66-58 loss to No. 10 Indiana on March 7.

• Pitts led all scorers with 25 points, while Bell scored 15 points and had a game-high nine rebounds.

• As a team, Minnesota set a school record by making all 17 of its free throw attempts. It was the most makes without a miss at the line, bettering the previous mark of 11-for-11 against Michigan State on Feb. 27, 2000. The figure also tied for the fifth best in Big Ten history.

• In the first quarter, the Gophers were within two at 8-6 but the Hoosiers closed out the frame on a 12-4 run to lead 20-10 after the first quarter.

• Free throws from Bell and a jumper from Jasmine Brunson got Minnesota within 20-14 less than two minutes into the second quarter, but Indiana responded with a 10-2 run and held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the first half. At halftime, Indiana led 42-28.

• Down 44-30 in the third, Minnesota got within seven thanks to a 10-3 spurt to trail 47-40 with 3:04 left in the quarter. Indiana held off further damage, though, to lead 53-42 going into the fourth.

• Minnesota made it a two-possession game in the fourth quarter three times, including at 60-54 with 2:33 to play. Minnesota would get to within six two more times, but that would be as close as they would get.

RECAPPING THE WISCONSIN GAME

• Minnesota saw its 13-game win streak over Wisconsin come to an end Wednesday in a 72-62 loss.

• The streak was the longest active for the Golden Gophers against one team and was the second longest ever for Minnesota against another school. Only a 16-game streak versus Northwestern from Feb. 2000 to Jan. 2009 was longer.

• Four players reached double figures for Minnesota with Jasmine Brunson and Gadiva Hubbard leading the way with 12 points each. Jasmine Powell pitched in with 11 points off the bench, while Sara Scalia added 10 points.

• Taiye Bello was one point away from her ninth double-double of the season as she finished with 13 rebounds and nine points.

• Wisconsin, which was led by Imani Lewis' 23 points and 16 rebounds, led 20-14 after the first quarter, but the Gophers turned it on in the second and outscored the Badgers 23-14 in the stanza highlighted by an 11-2 run.

• Unfortunately Minnesota couldn't keep the momentum up in the second half as Wisconsin held a 19-8 edge in the third quarter. Tied at 45-45 with 5:18 to play in the frame, Wisconsin closed out the quarter on an 8-0 run and led 53-45 entering the fourth. Minnesota would get as close as five midway through the final frame.

OFFENSE UP IN YEAR TWO UNDER WHALEN

• Through 19 games, the Minnesota offense has picked up its scoring and offensive production in year two under head coach Lindsay Whalen.

• The Gophers are averaging 73.9 points per game this year, nearly four points better than the 70.1 points they were averaging at this same stage a season ago.

• The Gophers' shooting percentage on 3-pointers is 80 points better than last year even though they have 121 more attempts this year. Not only does the team's current .384 mark on 3-pointers lead the Big Ten and rank eighth nationally, but it is also on pace to be the third best in school history behind the record of .399 set in 1988-89 and .393 in 2013-14.

• Minnesota is also 84 points better on free throws as it leads the Big Ten and ranks 21st nationally by shooting .763 percent from the line. Six Gophers have attempted at least 25 free throws this year and all are shooting better than 71 percent. Last year at this stage, of the six players with at least 15 attempts, only two were shooting above 68 percent from the line.

FRESHMEN POWELL, SCALIA MAKING INSTANT IMPACT

• Minnesota has six freshmen on its 2019-20 roster and some are already making significant contributions.

• Sara Scalia, who has started every contest this year except for the season opener, is second on the team in field goal percentage (.449), 3-point percentage (.409), steals (30) and minutes per game (31.7), third in free throw percentage (.840) and rebounding average (4.7), and fourth in scoring (11.4).

• Scalia's 3-point percentage of 40.9 stands as the second best ever by a Gopher freshman (min. 40 attempts) behind only Rachel Banham's 42.5 mark set in 2011-12.

• Within the Big Ten, Scalia leads all freshmen in 3-pointers made per game (1.9), is second in scoring average, minutes and steals per game (1.6), sixth in rebounding average and 10th in assists (1.6).

• Against Bryant on Nov. 26, she scored 20 points and tied a career high with seven rebounds en route to being named B1G Freshman of the Week. She followed that at George Washington on Dec. 10 when she set or tied multiple career highs, including points (23), rebounds (7), steals (4) and blocks (2).

• She scored 22 points in her Big Ten debut at Penn State on Dec. 28, tying a career high with five 3-pointers made. Against Iowa on Jan. 16, she had her first career double-double with 18 points and a career-high 10 rebounds then followed with 18 points at Purdue to earn her second B1G Freshman of the Week honor.

• Jasmine Powell, who has come off the bench in all 18 games, is second on the team in free throws made (45) and attempted (61) and second in assists (55).

• Within the B1G, Powell is third among freshmen in assists per game (2.9), fifth in steals per game (1.4) and eighth in scoring average (8.9).

• Powell put up 19 points against Vermont on Nov. 10, the most by a non-starter at Minnesota since Nov. of 2017, and has scored in double figures in eight games this year.

• With Scalia averaging 11.4 points per game and Powell at 8.9, the Gophers' duo is showing the makings of one of the top freshman scoring combinations in recent program history. Only two other times in In the last 25 years have the Gophers had more than one freshman average at least 8.0 points: 2006-07 with Ashley Ellis-Milan (9.1) and Brittany McCoy (8.9), and 2000-01 with current head coach Lindsay Whalen (17.0) and Tanisha Gilbert (14.7).

• Additionally, the four freshmen that have played this year, including Klarke Sconiers (3.8 ppg) and Barbora Tomancova (1.4), have combined for 25.5 points per game, the highest figure among Gopher freshmen in the last 13 years and third largest in the last 25 years.

GOPHERS WINNING TURNOVER BATTLE

• Minnesota is winning the turnover battle so far, forcing 330 turnovers while giving the ball away just 248 times through 19 games.

• Not only do the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten and 28th nationally with just 13.1 turnovers committed per game, they are also third in the B1G in turnover margin (+4.32; 36th nationally), fourth in turnovers forced per game (17.37) and fifth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.08; 48th nationally).

• In terms of taking care of the ball, against Vermont on Nov. 10 the Gophers only committed five turnovers, which tied for the third fewest in program history. The Gophers have had four games this year with 10 or fewer turnovers and only five contests where it has turned the ball over more than 15 times.

• Six times this year Minnesota has forced opponents into at least 20 turnovers. Against Milwaukee on Nov. 14, Minnesota forced the Panthers into 33 turnovers, which tied for the 10th most forced in program history. The Gophers then turned those 33 turnovers into 35 points.

• Converting turnovers into points has been a trend for the Gophers all season. There have been only four games this year where they have failed to earn at least one point for every turnover forced. They have turned 330 takeaways into 382 points this year, an average of 1.16 points for every turnover forced.

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Players Mentioned

Kenisha Bell

Taiye Bello

Jasmine Brunson

Irene Garrido Perez

Gadiva Hubbard

Destiny Pitts

Jasmine Powell

Sara Scalia

Klarke Sconiers

Barbora Tomancova