Big Ten Tournament Starts Wednesday for Gophers

MINNEAPOLIS -- Minnesota (8-12, 7-11 B1G) has earned the No. 9 seed and will face No. 8 Nebraska (11-11, 9-10 B1G) in the second round of the 2021 Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis Wednesday at 10 a.m. CT.

The game can be seen by a national television audience on Big Ten Network and heard on the Gophers' radio home, 96.7 KFAN Plus.

THE OPENING TIP-OFF

• The Golden Gophers and Cornhuskers have met twice already this season with Minnesota prevailing in both contests. First was a 76-71 victory in Lincoln on Jan. 19, while the regular season sweep was completed with a 73-63 triumph in Minneapolis on Feb. 24. More information on those matchups and on the all-time series can be found below. Minnesota is looking to beat the same team three times in one season for the first time since winning all three contests against Wisconsin in 2013-14.

• Jasmine Powell was named Second Team All-Big Ten by the league's coaches and Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the media covering the conference. Meanwhile, Sara Scalia was chosen Honorable Mention All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. In addition, redshirt senior Gadiva Hubbard was tabbed as the school's Sportsmanship Award representative.

• Scalia is tied for the team lead with Powell with a scoring average of 14.5 points per game this season. After missing the first two games of the season due to injury, Scalia averaged 8.0 points over her first three contests and was shooting 23.5 percent from the floor (8-34) and 20 percent on 3-pointers (4-20). However, she has averaged 16.0 points over her last 13 contests while shooting 37.9 percent on field goals (67-177) and 35.7 percent on 3's (40-112). She missed the Jan. 10 contest with Penn State (shoulder) and the Feb. 20 game at Maryland (non-COVID illness) but has scored at least 11 points in each of her last 13 games, including a career-high 30 against Purdue on Jan. 28. It was the first 30-point game by a Gopher since Dec. of 2018.

• Scalia has made at least one 3-pointer in all 16 games she's played this year, including 12 games with at least two made, five games with at least four made and a career-best six vs. the Boilermakers on Jan. 28. She finished the regular season ranked third in the Big Ten and 24th nationally with 2.75 made 3-pointers per game. Scalia was also fourth in the conference in 3's attempted (132), fifth in 3's made (44) and sixth in 3-point percentage (.333). Her career mark of .353 from long range ranks 10th in program history.

• Powell was injured in the second quarter at Maryland on Feb. 20 and has missed Minnesota's last two games as a result. In addition to her scoring prowess of 14.5 points per game, Powell is third in the conference and 18th nationally with her 5.4 assists per game. Powell is one of only eight players in the country with her averages of at least 14.5 points and 5.4 assists this year. Other notable players in the group include Iowa's Caitlin Clark (27.4 points, 6.9 assists), UConn's Paige Bueckers (19.7, 6.1), Maryland's Ashley Owusu (18.7, 5.8) and Rutgers' Arella Guirantes (20.8, 5.4).

• Kadi Sissoko is the team's top rebounder (6.3 per game), and she ranks fifth in the Big Ten in offensive rebounds per game (2.95) and 15th in rebounding average. Sissoko has recorded two double-doubles this season and three 20-point games, including 24 in her Minnesota debut against Eastern Illinois, 20 at Iowa on Jan. 6 and 20 against Wisconsin on Feb. 14. She has shot 34-of-66 (51.5 percent) on field goals over her last seven contests. As a result, that has brought her season shooting average up from .379 to .420. Sissoko was injured midway through the third quarter last Friday at Illinois and did not return.

BIG TEN TOURNAMENT NOTES

• The Golden Gophers have won at least one game at the Big Ten Tournament in five of the last seven years. The team is 2-3 in the second round of the tournament and 11-27 all-time at the event.

• Wednesday will be just the second matchup between Minnesota and Nebraska at the Big Ten Tournament. The other instance came in the 2014 quarterfinals when the Huskers recorded an 80-67 victory.

• This is also just the second time that Minnesota has been the No. 9 seed at the tournament and the second time it has faced the No. 8 seed. In 2011 the ninth-seeded Gophers fell in the first round to No. 8 Northwestern.

• Minnesota is 1-2 at the Big Ten Tournament under Lindsay Whalen, losing to Indiana in 2019 before defeating Penn State and falling to Ohio State last year.

FACING NEBRASKA

• Minnesota and Nebraska meet for the 27th time on Wednesday. The Huskers hold a 14-12 edge in the series, including a 9-7 lead since they joined the Big Ten prior to the 2011-12 season. Minnesota has won the last three meetings, its longest win streak ever over the Huskers.

• This will be just the second matchup between the schools at a neutral site. The only other instance came at the 2014 Big Ten Tournament when Nebraska won 80-67.

• Minnesota junior Kayla Mershon spent her first two seasons at Nebraska. Mershon played in all 60 games with 15 starts for the Huskers, averaging 2.4 points and 2.8 rebounds in 14.6 minutes of action per contest while shooting 35.8 percent from the floor and 30.0 percent on 3-pointers. In two games this year against her former team, she is averaging 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds.

• Nebraska has three Minnesotans on its roster: junior Sam Haiby from Moorhead (Moorhead HS) and two freshmen from Minneapolis Kendall Coley (St. Louis Park HS) and Annika Stewart (Wayzata HS).

• The Cornhuskers are 11-11 on the season and 9-10 in the Big Ten. They entered the contest against the Gophers on Jan. 19 by winning four of their last five games including upsets of then-No. 16/15 Northwestern, then-No. 23/24 Michigan State and No. 15/15 Ohio State. However, after starting the season 7-4, Nebraska ended the season 4-7, including a pair of losses to Minnesota.

• Nebraska has three players averaging double figures with Haiby leading the way at 17.0 points per game. Isabelle Bourne is behind her with a 13.9 scoring average, and is posting a team-best 7.9 rebounds per contest, while Kate Cain has her average at 10.3 points per game.

• Cain leads the Big Ten in both blocks (67; 7th nationally) and blocks per game (3.05; 8th).

• As a team, the Huskers lead the conference and rank ninth in the country with 5.7 blocks per game, while they are also tops in the league and 20th in the country with 29.5 defensive rebounds per contest.

GOPHERS GET THE WIN IN LINCOLN

• Minnesota held Nebraska to just 10 points in the fourth quarter as the Gophers earned a hard-fought, 76-71 win at Pinnacle Bank Arena on Jan. 19.

• Gadiva Hubbard led four Gophers in double figures with 18 points, 15 of which came in the second half and 12 in the fourth quarter alone. She also tallied a season-best seven rebounds, one off a career high.

• Hubbard was 5-9 on 3-pointers, leading a long-range attack for Minnesota that saw the team finish 15-32 on 3's. Sara Scalia was 4-10, while Jasmine Powell made three of eight shots as the Gophers made the fourth most 3-pointers in team history and the most in the Lindsay Whalen coaching era.

• The 32 attempts also tied for the most under Whalen, while the 46.9 percent shot in the game still stands as a season best.

• Powell finished with 15 points and five assists, while Scalia recorded 14 points and six assists. As a team, the Gophers had 18 assists on 24 made field goals and committed only seven turnovers, a season low that tied for the seventh fewest in program history.

• Also in double figures was Klarke Sconiers, who finished with 10 points. Kadi Sissoko nearly had a double-double with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds, including five offensive.

• Nebraska led by as many as 10 in the first half and was up by two entering the fourth quarter. The Huskers extended the lead to five, but Hubbard broke through with a 3-pointer to kickstart an 8-0 run.

• The Huskers evened the game back up at 68-68 with 1:10 to go, but Hubbard knocked down her third 3-pointer of the quarter to put the Gophers ahead for good with 49 seconds remaining. Hubbard's 12 points in the fourth are the most by a Gopher in any quarter this season, while Nebraska's 10 points remain as the fewest by an opponent in a fourth quarter this season.

• After shooting 53.1 percent in the first half, the Huskers were held to just 24.2 percent shooting in the second half, including 14.3 percent in the fourth quarter, missing 18 of 21 shots in the final quarter.

MINNESOTA COMPLETES SWEEP OF NEBRASKA

• Minnesota got contributions up and down its lineup and used a late defensive stand to shut down Nebraska in a 73-63 win on Feb. 24 at Williams Arena.

• With starting point guard Jasmine Powell out for the game with an injury suffered in the previous game, four Gophers reached double figures as they recorded their first-ever three-game win streak over the Cornhuskers.

• Gadiva Hubbard tied for the team lead with 14 points with 11 coming in the second half alone. She was matched by Klarke Sconiers, who equaled a career high with her 14 points off the bench. Playing less than 11 minutes, Sconiers did all of her scoring between the second and third quarters.

• Sara Scalia shouldered more of the point guard duties with Powell out and responded with a stat line of 11 points, a career-high eight assists, a season-best seven rebounds, three steals and zero turnovers.

• Battling foul trouble, Kadi Sissoko posted 10 points and six rebounds. She was limited to 7:18 of playing time through three quarters, but played all 10:00 in the fourth with eight points and four rebounds in the frame.

• The game was tied at 62-62 with 3:43 to play, but Minnesota outscored Nebraska 11-1 over the remainder of the game to sweep the regular season series.

• Former Husker Kayla Mershon broke the tie with a layup, while Sissoko pushed the lead to four with a driving layup. A Nebraska free throw with 1:36 to play got it back to a one-possession game but that would be the final points for the Huskers, whose 63 points tied for the fewest by a Gopher opponent this year.

• Sissoko answered with a layup to make it a five-point game with 1:08 to play, while Hubbard and Scalia each made a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 72-63 with 33 seconds to go.

• In the final 3:43, Nebraska was 0-5 from the floor and 1-2 at the free throw line with two turnovers. Conversely, Minnesota was 3-6 from the field and 5-6 on free throws with just one turnover in that same span.

RECAPPING THE GAME AT ILLINOIS

• Minnesota women's basketball team ended the regular season with a 72-64 loss Friday at Illinois.

• Four players reached double figures for the Golden Gophers, who had eight players available.

• Sara Scalia led the way with a team-high 12 points and four assists, while Gadiva Hubbard was one off Scalia's mark with 11 points and added five rebounds.

• A pair of freshmen each tallied career highs in scoring as Alexia Smith matched Hubbard with 11 points and Grace Cumming tallied 10 points off the bench. The duo also had six rebounds a piece, pacing the team and establishing career highs in the category, as well.

• The contest was even over the first two quarters as Illinois held a 19-18 lead after the first quarter, while Minnesota edged out the Illini, 17-16, in the second to send the game to halftime tied at 35-35.

• After an Illini basket opened the scoring in the third, Hubbard and Scalia hit consecutive 3-pointers to give Minnesota its largest lead at 41-37 with 8:47 remaining in the quarter.

• The lead was 45-44 for Minnesota roughly four minutes later when Kadi Sissoko, who had nine points, five rebounds and three assists at that point, was injured as she battled for an offensive rebound. She did not return and the momentum shifted toward Illinois.

• After Sissoko's injury, Illinois outscored the Gophers, 13-4, over the final 4:42 of the third quarter. The contest was tied 51-51 with 1:59 to play in the third, but the Illini scored the final six points of the frame and ran the run to 9-0 starting the fourth.

• Minnesota cut the Illini lead down to seven on three separate occasions, but that would be as close as the Gophers would get, though.

POWELL, GOPHERS IMPROVING FROM LONG RANGE

• Jasmine Powell has improved her 3-point shooting between the first two years of her career.

• As a freshman, Powell was 30-of-100 on 3-pointers, shooting 30 percent from long range and making 0.96 3-pointers per contest over 31 games. But this year in 18 games, she's already 38-of-108 on 3's while shooting 35.2 percent and making 2.11 per game.

• Powell has made at least two 3-pointers in 11 of her 18 contests this year, including nine games with at least three made and three games of a career-high four made 3's. She's made at least three 3-pointers in seven of her last 13 outings.

• This year Powell ranks fifth in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage and sixth in 3's made per game.

• As a team, the Gophers have seen notable improvement in 3-pointers over the second half of the season. Through the first eight games, the team was shooting a combined 28.6 percent (57-199) from long range, but in the 12 games since they're shooting 36.8 percent (91-247).

• During the recent stretch, Powell is 18-48 (37.5 percent) on 3's, Gadiva Hubbard is 15-35 (42.9), Sara Scalia is 33-94 (35.1) and Katie Borowicz is 10-20 (50.0). In fact, six Gophers have attempted 10 or more 3's in the last 11 games and all six are shooting at least .313 in that span.

• The team ranks fourth in the B1G in 3-pointers attempted (446) and 3's made per game (7.4),, fifth in 3's made (148) and sixth in 3-pt. percentage (.332).

SISSOKO AMONG THE BIG TEN'S MOST IMPROVED

• Gophers sophomore Kadi Sissoko finished the regular season with the biggest increase in the Big Ten from her last season of competition to this year in rebounding average and the second highest jump in scoring.

• As a freshman at Syracuse in 2018-19, Sissoko averaged 1.8 rebounds per game. But this year, her rebounding average stands at 6.6. That increase of 4.8 rebounds per game was best in the Big Ten.

• Sissoko is second among the most improved scorers in the league as she has gone from 3.2 points per game as a freshman to 12.6 this year.

GOPHERS EXCELLING AT THE LINE

• One of Minnesota's biggest strengths this year has been the team's performance at the free throw line. The Gophers are 256-345, good for a .742 percentage that ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 58th in the country. It's also currently the ninth best mark in program history.

• Minnesota has been particularly good late in contests, 78.6 percent on free throws in the fourth quarter and 78.3 percent in the fourth quarter and overtime combined this season.

• Minnesota has shot 80 percent or better from the free throw line in six games this season, including three of the last seven contests of the regular season: 13-16 (81.3 percent) against Wisconsin, 20-23 (87.0) against Illinois and 12-15 (80.0) at Ohio State.

• The team's best performance was a 13-14 mark versus Maryland on Jan. 14, a 92.9 percent effort.

• Eight Gophers have attempted at least 15 free throws this year and five have percentages at 72 percent or higher. Gadiva Hubbard leads the way at 91.2 percent (31-34), while Sara Scalia is at 90.5 percent (38-42).

BIG TEN RANKINGS

• The Gophers had four players average double figures in Big Ten play with Sara Scalia leading the way at 14.5 points per game. Jasmine Powell was behind her at 13.6, while Kadi Sissoko finished at 11.9 and Gadiva Hubbard averaged 10.9 points per game. Sissoko also had a team-best 6.3 rebounds per contest in B1G play.

• In Big Ten play, the Gophers ranked fourth in 3's made per game (7.56) and free throw percentage (.744), sixth in assists per game (15.11), 3-point percentage (.336), and offensive rebounding rate (.314) and seventh in defensive rebounding rate (.674).

• Powell ranked third in assists per game (5.19), seventh in 3's made per game (2.06) and 10th in free throw percentage (.766).

• Scalia was third in 3's made per game (2.75), fourth in 3-point percentage (.333), 14th in minutes per game (33.90) and 19th in scoring.

• Sissoko finished 10th in offensive rebounds per game (2.67) and 18th in rebounding average.

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Katie Borowicz

Grace Cumming

Gadiva Hubbard

Kayla Mershon

Jasmine Powell

Sara Scalia

Klarke Sconiers

Kadi Sissoko

Alexia Smith