This article is written by Joel, one the newbies who will be helping to take my spot here at DTI, as I have gone on to be a contributor over at Eleven Warriors. We’ll set him up his own account soon, but for now he’ll post from my name. Here’s your Minnesota preview for tonight’s game:

Tonight, February 7, the Buckeyes (16-5, 6-4) take on the 19th ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (18-4, 6-4) at Value City Arena (8 PM). Both teams come into the game in a four way tie for third place in the Big 10, two games behind league leader Michigan State and trailing second place Purdue by half a game. Ohio State is still looking for another resume building win, as the Miami (FL) and Notre Dame wins are starting to lose a lot of luster, and the win over #11 Butler is standing as the team’s only landmark out of conference win of the 2008-2009 campaign thus dar.

The last time the Buckeyes took the court was an 80-72 overtime win over #12 Purdue this past Tuesday. The Buckeyes are on a three game winning streak and are absolutely scorching the nets, shooting a combined 60.1% in the three wins over Purdue, Michigan, and Indiana. Leading the Buckeyes in that win over Purdue was Evan Turner, making a strong case for Big Ten POY, with 26 points and 12 rebounds, but contributions were also felt from William Buford (22 points) and BJ Mullens (17 points).

Minnesota on the other hand, is coming into the game losers of three of their last five games, including a twenty-nine point drubbing at the hands of Michigan State on Thursday. Leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook was held in single digits for the first time in twevlve games, and the only Golden Gopher to score more than ten points, was backup guard Devoe Joseph with 11. Minnesota shot a measly 28.8% from the field, a number they must dramatically improve if they want to have any chance of beating the Buckeyes. Westbrook is the only player on Minnesota averaging more than 10+ PPG, but at 13.5 per game, he isn’t consistent enough as a scorer to carry the whole team on his back. Tubby Smith will utilize his team’s motion offense to get the maximum production from every player in his steady eight man rotation tonight.

The last time these two teams met was in Minneapolis on January when the 21st ranked Golden Gophers upended the 23rd ranked Buckeyes 68-59. Turner led the Bucks with 21 but no one else besides Jon Diebler (15) put up double digit points, and Buford was held to only 6. For the Gophers, Westbrook has 15 points and Damian Johnson dropped 12 while Minnesota outrebounded Ohio State 35-27. With Purdue off tonight, the winner of this game moves into a two way tie with Purdue for second place in the Big 10. This game should be close throughout, but if the Bucks can get on a big run early on, I think this game has the potential to be a little more lopsided than most would expect. The Buckeyes’ shooting will drop off a little bit, but they will win this game 69-61. I think Turner will have a big game, dropping 23 points, but don’t be surprised if Lauderdale puts up double digits tonight. The Buckeyes have not only been shooting lights out, but have also been passing the ball very well and I see them having around 18 assists tonight as well. Minnesota will put up a good fight, but the Buckeyes will win this one, pulling them towards the top of the Big 10 race and with consecutive wins over Purdue and Minnesota, in much better position for March Madness.