Minnesota @ Iowa

Who will WIN this matchup?

Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-4)

@ Iowa Hawkeyes (6-3)

Current odds:

Minnesota Golden Gophers: (+230)

Iowa Hawkeyes: (-280)

• The line for this game is Iowa by 6.5 points.

• Iowa looks to get back on track after a disappointing defensive performance in its Big Ten Conference opener when it hosts Minnesota on Monday. The Hawkeyes dropped a 103-91 decision to fifth-ranked Michigan on Friday, which was the most points allowed by an Iowa squad since 2012, and hope to turn their fortunes around by ending a two-game skid in the border rivalry with the Golden Gophers. “You’re going to get competition every night and that’s what’s going to make you better,” Iowa center Luka Garza told reporters. “That’s what’s fun about being a part of our league and that’s why I signed up for it.” Minnesota looks to bounce back from a difficult first month of the season after dropping four non-conference games in November for the first time since 2006-07.

• The Golden Gophers have lost all three games away from Minneapolis this season, but hope to build on a 78-60 victory against Clemson as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Dec. 2 by picking up their first victory in Iowa City since Feb. 12, 2015. “I feel after eight games this is most we’ve been tested in my six years of being here and we needed a win to show for it,” Minnesota coach Richard Pitino told reporters. “I think our guys needed to start feeling good about themselves.”

• Marcus Carr scored a career-high 24 points to go along with nine assists and five rebounds in the win over Clemson to help the Golden Gophers record their largest margin of victory in the conference challenge, which started in 1999. Daniel Oturu added 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and blocked four shots against the Tigers despite being limited to 25 minutes because of foul trouble. Gabe Kalscheur is starting to heat up after a slow start as he tallied 15 points to finish in double figures for the fifth straight game.

• Garza showed no ill effects of the ankle injury he suffered in the second half of the win against Syracuse as he poured in a career-high 44 points against Michigan, which was the most points scored by an Iowa player since 1970. Garza added eight rebounds, including six on the offensive glass, and made 17 field goals, which is tied for the third-most in Iowa history en route to becoming the 49th player in program history to reach 1,000 points for his career. Connor McCaffery was the only other Hawkeye player to reach double figures as he finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and four assists.

• Garza is averaging a Big Ten-leading 22.7 points per game and was tied for eighth nationally entering Sunday.

• Oturu was ninth in the country in blocked shots per game (3.38).

• Iowa is 16-2 in home games in the month of December since the start of the 2015-16 season.