Gaming with Gophers: Rutgers women's basketball to take on Minnesota in 1st round of 2024 Big Ten Tournament
The Rutgers women's basketball team will head off to Minneapolis, Minnesota, to participate in the 2024 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament. The Scarlet Knights (8-23, 2-16) finished with the worst record in the conference and will take on No. 11-seed and tournament host Minnesota in the first round on Wednesday at the Target Center.
The tournament matchup will be a replay of the February 13 battle between the two teams. Rutgers was able to edge out the Golden Gophers (15-14, 5-13) by a score of 81-73 at Jersey Mike's Arena on Livingston campus.
In that game, sophomore guard Mya Petticord led the way with 25 points, while junior guard and forward Destiny Adams followed closely behind with 21 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The Knights, though, will most likely be without Petticord this time. The sophomore has been out since Rutgers took on Maryland on February 21.
Grace Grocholski was the star for Minnesota against the Knights in February, totaling a team-high 23 points with seven three-pointers. Sophie Hart scored 17 points with seven rebounds, while Mallory Heyer tacked on 12 points of her own with eight rebounds. In the tournament, Grocholski should continue to be a long-ball threat, while Hart and Heyer are expected to make another impact on the score sheet and on the boards against Rutgers.
In that game, the Golden Gophers were without their leading scorer Mara Braun who averaged 17.8 points per game (PPG) through 20 regular season contests.
Minnesota averaged the ninth most PPG on offense throughout the Big Ten with 70.1, just a few spots ahead of the Knights at the 13th spot with 65.7 PPG. The Golden Gophers, despite their losing conference record, were solid on the defensive front, keeping opponents to 66.1 PPG and putting in as fifth in the conference. Rutgers stood at the 12th spot, allowing 72.8 PPG.
Both the Knights and Minnesota are 2 of 6 teams in the Big Ten who average at least 36.4 rebounds per game, signaling a strength on the boards for both squads. The two teams are also neck-and-neck in field goal percentage, with the Golden Gophers at the 10th spot and Rutgers at the 11th.
Minnesota will look to take advantage of the Knights' turnovers, as Rutgers has given the ball to the other team 574 times on the season for the the largest total in the conference.
Throughout history, the Knights have gotten the best of the Golden Gophers with an 8-5 record against them. Rutgers is also currently on a three-game winning streak against Minnesota and will look to increase it to four games with a win this week.
"We're going into the Big Ten Tournament with the resilience backpacked in our bags and ready to enjoy the experience and compete as hard as we can," head coach Coquese Washington said.
When asked if her squad would be ready for the first tournament sellout in its 31-year history, Washington was confident that the Knights would be prepared.
"I think it's one of the things in the Big Ten. We get great crowds wherever we go," Washington said. "So, I don't think they’ll be intimidated or anything. I think they’ll be excited about it. I always tell them when we go on the road … you hear all the cheers, they're your cheers. Embrace them."
The Big Ten Tournament will last from March 6 to March 10. If Rutgers defeats the Golden Gophers on Wednesday, it will take on No. 6-seeded Michigan, who defeated the Knights twice in the regular season.
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