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Maryland Basketball: Big Ten Tournament preview

By John Niswander

Feb 4, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 4, 2017; College Park, MD, USA; Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon reacts against the Purdue Boilermakers at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 5, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Zak Showalter (3) chases Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Nate Mason (2) as Mason drives the ball down the floor during the first half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2017; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers guard Zak Showalter (3) chases Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Nate Mason (2) as Mason drives the ball down the floor during the first half at the Kohl Center. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /

Threat to make the Final: No. 4 Minnesota

In just one year, the Golden Gophers have turned their program around from finishing 13th in the conference to fourth and earning a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

Minnesota began conference play with a 3-1 mark before suffering a five-game losing streak. After the skid, the Golden Gophers began to roll. They won eight games in a row before losing the regular season finale at Wisconsin.

There wasn’t a large contingent that believed that Minnesota would be as competitive at the top of the conference as they ended up being. On the court, the Gophers are led by junior guard Nate Mason and All-Freshman First Team honoree Amir Coffey.

Both players average over 10 points-per-game. If Minnesota is to make the title game, they will likely have to defeat Michigan State in the semifinal, who defeated the Golden Gophers in both meetings during the regular season. However, Minnesota is one of the hotter teams in the conference currently, having won eight of their last nine games.

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