Minnesota in search of .500 at home

Coming off of two consecutive Big Ten losses, Minnesota (10-9, 2-3 Big Ten) will try to get back in the win column against last year’s Big Ten champion Michigan State (12-6, 4-1 Big Ten) on Thursday at Williams Arena.

“We’ll be excited here to play at home. I think we have a little of a bit of a bad taste in our mouth because of how the Michigan game went,” head coach Pam Borton said Monday during her weekly radio show on 1500 ESPN.

Although the Gophers out-rebounded the Wolverines 44-29 during their Jan. 15 game, they were unable to maintain control of the ball, committing 22 turnovers in a matchup in which Borton said she believes her team was superior.

Senior guard Kiara Buford and freshman guard Rachel Banham led the team in turnovers Sunday, each with four.

“I can live with a freshman turning the ball over … but it’s everybody else,” Borton said on her show. “I think when you’ve got some veterans out there that have a lot of games and a lot of minutes under their belt, they have to take care of the ball a little bit better. They have to play smarter; they’ve been in these positions before.”

In addition to committing fewer turnovers, Borton said that the team needs to “get more people involved in the offense and scoring,” so that they don’t have to “expect Rachel [Banham] to put up 28 points a night.”  Banham had a career-high 28 points in the loss to Michigan.

Banham, whose 15.5 points per game leadsthe Gophers, was named Tuesday Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the fourth time of the season. She was also named Big Ten Player of the Week on Jan. 9.

“I think she’s a special player. I don’t think anybody thought she’d be playing this well this early in her career,” Borton said on the show.

Banham’s backcourt mate, Buford, who injured her left wrist against Purdue, is expected to play against Michigan State. Borton said that since Buford’s injury is on her left hand, she does not expect her to be much affected by the injury.

The Spartans suffered their first conference defeat, a 64-56 home loss to No. 11 Ohio State, on Jan. 15.

Borton said on the show that the Spartans run a lot of ball screens, and they are “pretty disciplined in running their [plays] and getting the right people the right shots.”

Containing Spartan forward Lykendra Johnson, who currently leads the Big Ten in rebounding (9.1 per game), will be crucial for the Gophers. Johnson has averaged 13.7 points and 9.7 rebounds in six career games against Minnesota.

“She can go in and out with the ball. She’s got a little bit of a perimeter game. She can put the ball on the floor [and is a] great offensive rebounder,” Borton told the station. “She’s just big; she’s a big kid and really hard to handle because of her size.”

This is the first game of the season between Minnesota and Michigan State. Last year, the Gophers dropped both games to the eventual champion Spartans.

Michigan State has won its last four matchups with Minnesota.