Michigan State Looks to Continue Dominance Over Minnesota
The Michigan State Spartans travel to Minneapolis, Minn., to take on the Minnesota Golden Gophers, beginning Big Ten play on Wednesday.
The Spartans have dominated the Golden Gophers over the years. Since 2000, they have had a clear edge, with a record of 34-9 against their fellow conference opponent.
The Spartans have more success against the Golden Gophers at the Breslin Center, going 18-1 as the home team. But for Wednesday's matchup, the Spartans will have to perform on the road.
The last time the Golden Gophers hosted the Spartans at Williams Arena, the Spartans didn’t fare well.
In that game, Golden Gophers guard Cam Christie, brother of former Spartan Max Christie, scored a team-high 19 points, leading to a Golden Gophers 59-56 victory.
The Spartans' loss to the Golden Gophers was a rough point last season, as they dropped to 14-9 and 6-6 in conference play.
The Spartans got the last laugh later in the season, ending the Golden Gophers March Madness hopes with a 77-67 win in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
After playing four neutral site games to begin the season, the Spartans will travel to Williams Arena for their first true road game and first road Big Ten game of the season.
The Spartans typically have success in their first conference road game, going 7-3 in their last ten Big Ten road openers.
These two squads have faced off many times, but no game was more important than the time both teams matched up in the 2019 Second Round of March Madness.
Former Spartans Cassius Winston and Xavier Tillman combined for 27 points in the Spartans 70-50 victory, moving on to the Sweet Sixteen. This was a key win in Spartans coach Tom Izzo’s last run to the Final Four over five years ago.
This season, the Golden Gophers have struggled, dropping a home game to North Texas early in the season. Now, they come in after a last-place finish in the ESPN Events Invitational.
Golden Gophers guard Dawson Garcia has had some big games this season, but those performances were against lesser opponents.
When Garcia faced better teams, he struggled, scoring four points against Wichita State and eight points against Wake Forest.
If the Spartans can turn up the pressure on Garcia, they will be able to continue the trend of success against the Golden Gophers.
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