GAME NOTES: Hitting the road for the first time in six games, the Minnesota Golden Gophers will seek to keep an eight-game win streak alive against the Purdue Boilermakers in a Big Ten Conference clash at Mackey Arena.

Minnesota has earned an 11-2 record this season, having dropped contests to only Louisville and St. John's. The Gophers have won eight games in a row entering this matchup, which will kick off conference play for the visiting Gophers.

The same goes for Purdue, which has yet to play a Big Ten program this season. The Boilermakers are 8-5 on the year, although the team has dropped three straight decisions, including an 89-84 defeat at the hands of Gardner-Webb last Monday.

The history between these two teams runs deep, as this meeting will be the 167th of the all-time series. Purdue owns the series advantage with a 90-76 record over Minnesota, including a 59-24 mark in West Lafayette.

Minnesota put a heavy amount of offensive pressure on UNC Wilmington in the team's last outing, as the Golden Gophers shot 59.7 percent from the floor to take a 108-82 victory over the Seahawks at Williams Arena. Carlos Morris led the charge for the Gophers with 24 points in the win, while Nate Mason chipped in with 18 points and Maurice Walker added 17 with six rebounds. Charles Buggs came off the bench to net 13 points, and DeAndre Mathieu tallied a double- double of 13 points and 11 assists with four steals for Minnesota.

The 11 assists pushed Mathieu's season total up to 86 helpers this year, which is by far the most on the squad. Andre Hollins, who netted nine points against UNCW, leads the team in scoring this season with 13.7 ppg, followed closely by Morris's 13.0 ppg. Walker tallies 11.9 ppg for the Gophers, and Mason chips in 10.7 ppg to round out the group of double-digit scorers for Minnesota, which as a unit is scoring 83.1 ppg on 49.9 percent shooting from the floor.

Purdue struggled to keep pace offensively with Gardner-Webb in the team's most recent contest, especially in the second half, where the Runnin' Bulldogs shot 64 percent from the field. Five Boilermakers in double-digit scoring wasn't enough to help the home squad end a two-game losing skid. Rapheal Davis notched a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds, while both Jon Octeus and Bryson Scott added 13 more points to the losing effort. Isaac Haas netted 12, along with A.J. Hammons, who came off the bench to also grab seven boards.

Purdue brings a 6-2 home record into this contest against an offensively powerful Minnesota team. The Boilermakers will try to employ a scoring defense that allows 65.2 ppg to opponents in an effort to slow the Gophers down. Meanwhile on the other end, Haas leads the team in scoring entering this clash at 11.5 ppg. Kendall Stephens contributes 10.6 ppg, and Vince Edwards adds 10.4 ppg with a team-best 6.1 rpg mark. Purdue as a team is netting 76.2 ppg this season on 46.4 percent shooting, with five players averaging over nine points per outing.

The Boilermakers have a much-needed home advantage in this one, although there doesn't appear to be much that can slow down a torrid Golden Gophers offense. There's simply too much depth to Minnesota's lineup for Purdue in this one.