GAME NOTES: The Minnesota Golden Gophers are looking to get into the win column in Big Ten play when they host the unfamiliar Rutgers Scarlet Knights Saturday at Williams Arena.

With Rutgers new to the Big Ten, these programs have not met on the hardwood since 1979. Minnesota has won both head-to-head meetings, the other coming in the NIT in 1973.

Minnesota has lost all five of its conference tests following a promising 11-2 start that included road wins at Georgia and Wake Forest. The latest setback was a heartbreaking one, as a jumper by Iowa's Jarrod Uthoff with 3.5 seconds left in regulation handed Minnesota a 77-75 defeat on Tuesday.

The setback was even more disappointing considering the Gophers battled back from a 17-point second-half deficit. They actually led by four with three minutes remaining, but Uthoff's bucket broke a 75-75 tie in the closing seconds. Minnesota then put the ball in the hands of Deandre Mathieu, who streaked the length of the floor and floated in a layup at the buzzer, but it was waved off. After a video review the call was upheld and the Hawkeyes were awarded the narrow victory.

Carlos Morris tallied 20 points off the bench for Minnesota, while Nate Mason produced 17 points and handed out four assists. Mathieu and Joey King checked in with 11 points apiece in the losing cause.

Minnesota, which is scoring a healthy 78.3 ppg, has done well to spread the wealth. Morris is on top of the scoring list with 13.3 ppg, and Andre Hollins is hot on his heels with another 12.4 ppg thanks to 48.8 percent accuracy out on the perimeter. Also in the hunt is Maurice Walker who accounts not only for 12.2 ppg but also a team-best 6.4 rpg and 27 blocked shots. Mathieu (9.4 ppg) is in charge of getting his teammates involved, having issued 99 assists.

Three days after a stunning win over No. 4 Wisconsin, Rutgers dropped a hard- fought 73-65 decision to 14th-ranked Maryland on Wednesday. The Scarlet Knights held there own, limiting Maryland to 34.4 percent shooting and draining 45.5 percent of their shots, but the Terrapins had a sizeable advantage in free throws (20-8) and held a dominating 46-33 edge on the glass.

Myles Mack poured in a game-high 19 points for the Scarlet Knights, who have dropped to 2-3 in Big Ten play and 10-8 overall. Bishop Daniels and Mike Williams each had 12 points in the loss.

Offense has not come that easy for Rutgers. The team comes into this game netting a rather ugly 59.1 ppg, doing so on just .393 shooting. The team is last in the conference in both categories. Mack and Jack are the only two viable scoring options on the roster, averaging 14.1 and 12.4 ppg, respectively. The good news is that Rutgers remains competitive thanks to strong defensive play. The Scarlet Knights rank third in the conference in scoring defense (61.3 ppg) and sixth in field-goal percentage defense (.394).

Four of the Golden Gophers' five league losses have been by five points or less, so it's conceivable that if one or two plays went their way they are better than their record suggests. Rutgers has fared well in back-to-back games against ranked opponents, but coming away with a road win against a team desperate for a victory is a tough task.