Gophers gear up for daunting stretch of games

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota has worked hard to overcome the season-ending injury to star Trevor Mbakwe and those four straight losses to open Big Ten play.

Ah, but the challenge for the Gophers has barely begun.

Starting Thursday against rival Wisconsin, they play five of their next six games against teams currently ranked in the Top 25 to close out the month. Next Tuesday, they host No. 3 Ohio State. After a game at Northwestern, Minnesota returns home to face No. 11 Michigan State and No. 23 Indiana. Then there's the rematch with the 21st-ranked Badgers in Madison.

"The good teams that are going to be playing after the season are the teams that do their work. They get it done this time of year," coach Tubby Smith said.

The Gophers have won five of their last seven games, but with so many underclassmen playing key roles and so few victories over NCAA tournament-contending teams, they're arguably one of the conference's most mysterious teams. When they struggle, it isn't pretty with their leading scorer and rebounder Mbakwe wearing a knee brace and watching from the bench.

But there has been enough flash — inspired sequences and clutch contributions by starters and reserves — to create plenty of intrigue about these remaining games. Last season at this point, the Gophers were well into their free fall that resulted in a 17-14 record and Smith's first sub-20-win season since 1993.

"It's crunch time. February and early March is the time you've got to really buckle down and get ready to play and finish out strong, because we know how important that is," said backup center Elliott Eliason.

At 5-6 in the Big Ten and 17-7 overall, the Gophers are squarely on the NCAA tournament bubble. They will probably need a few more wins over quality opponents to put themselves in position for an at-large bid. The good news is they've got plenty of those tough foes left on the schedule.

The hard part is that they have to actually beat them, beginning with the Badgers, who won six straight games until a loss last week to Ohio State.

"We're definitely very excited to play, very anxious and very focused at the same time because we know how much it matters, not only for our fans base in beating Wisconsin but for ourselves and our goals of trying to be in the tournament," Eliason said.

Five of Minnesota's next seven games to finish the regular season are at home.

"I don't care who you're playing. It's better to have it this way," Smith said.