Dawson Garcia leads Minnesota against Michigan State
Minnesota Golden Gophers (12-5, 3-3 Big Ten) at Michigan State Spartans (10-7, 2-4 Big Ten)
East Lansing, Michigan; Thursday, 6:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE
Minnesota faces the Michigan State Spartans after Dawson Garcia scored 30 points in Minnesota's 86-77 loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Spartans have gone 9-2 at home. Michigan State averages 77.1 points while outscoring opponents by 11.6 points per game.
The Golden Gophers have gone 3-3 against Big Ten opponents. Minnesota averages 77.8 points and has outscored opponents by 9.9 points per game.
Michigan State averages 77.1 points, 9.2 more per game than the 67.9 Minnesota allows. Minnesota has shot at a 48.2% rate from the field this season, 9.2 percentage points higher than the 39.0% shooting opponents of Michigan State have averaged.
The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season between the two teams in conference play.
TOP PERFORMERS
Tyson Walker is shooting 39.3% from beyond the arc with 2.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Spartans, while averaging 19.9 points and 1.7 steals. A.J Hoggard is shooting 46.9% and averaging 12.6 points over the past 10 games for Michigan State.
Garcia is scoring 17.4 points per game with 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists for the Golden Gophers. Joshua Ola-Joseph is averaging 12.4 points and 3.0 rebounds while shooting 63.0% over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES
Spartans: 6-4, averaging 78.7 points, 35.1 rebounds, 19.0 assists, 6.7 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 49.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.8 points per game.
Golden Gophers: 7-3, averaging 76.5 points, 35.0 rebounds, 19.4 assists, 8.0 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 48.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.9 points.