Gophers Open Big Ten Play Monday at Wisconsin

Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-3, 0-0) vs Wisconsin Badgers (10-2, 0-1) LOCATION  Kohl Center (17,142) - Madison , WIs. DATE / TIME:  Monday, Dec. 29 / 8 p.m. TELEVISION:  Big Ten Network Mark Neely (Play-by-play), Patricia Babcock (Color Analyst) RADIO / WEBCAST:   KBEM 88.5 FM / Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com Corbu Stathes (Play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analyst) Golden Gopher Watch List — Dec. 29, 2008 • Golden Gophers Travel to Wisconsin to Open Big Ten Schedule - Minnesota travels to Madison ,  Wis. , on Monday, Dec. 29, to face the Wisconsin Badgers in the Golden Gophers' Big Ten Conference opener. Thanks to an opening-round bye and having the Wisconsin game moved to Monday to accomodate a live television broadcast, six BIg Ten teams will already have played two Conference games before the Gophers have played their first Big Ten contest. • Minnesota/Wisconsin Game on BTN - The Minnesota/Wisconsin game will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network at 8 p.m. It is the first of 11 Gopher games to be televised this season. • Border-Battle Rivalry - The Golden Gophers and Badgers will play each other for the 60th time in the Minnesota/Wisconsin series. Wisconsin owns a 30-29 edge in the series. • A Break From the Books - Minnesota plays the second of eight games between the Fall and Spring semesters on Sunday versus Iowa State . Classes resume on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Gophers Open Big Ten Slate at Wisconsin Minnesota travels to Wisconsin on Monday, Dec. 29, to open its Big Ten Conference schedule. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. The Golden Gophers are 8-3 on the season and look to break a two-game losing streak. The Badgers are 10-2 overall, and opened their Big Ten schedule before Christmas with a 73-63 loss to Iowa . 2008-09 TV Debut For the Gophers Minnesota's game at Wisconsin is the first of 11 games to be televised. The Big Ten Network will televise the contest live with Mark Neely providing the play-by-play and Patricia Babcock the color analysis. Jumping In on the Fun Minnesota is the last team to jump into Big Ten action due to a bye in the first-round of Conference action. Then, thanks to the Minnesota/Wisconsin game being moved to Monday for a BTN televised spot, six teams (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Penn State and Purdue) will actually have played two Big Ten games before the Gophers take to the court for their first Conference contest. A Break From the Books Minnesota plays the second of eight games between the Fall and Spring semesters on Monday versus Wisconsin . Classes resume on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Big Ten Starts With a Bang Minnesota has three games, two on the road, as the Gophers kick off the Big Ten Conference season. The Gophers travel to Wisconsin on Monday, Dec. 29, then host Penn  State on Thursday, Jan. 1, before traveling to Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 3. Big Ten Openers Minnesota is 5-1 under Pam Borton in Big Ten season-opening games. The Gophers captured a 74-63 win at Michigan State to open the Conference slate a year ago. Overall, Minnesota is 13-14 in Big Ten openers. Preseason Team Predictions An Interesting Lot The Big Ten coaches and media have differing opinions of which team is the favorite to win the title this season. The coaches pegged Purdue with top honors, while the media selected Ohio State . The Gophers were picked to finish fifth by the coaches and fourth by the media. Renewing the Border-Battle Rivalry Monday's game is the 60th meeting between border rivals Minnesota and Wisconsin . Wisconsin owns a one-game edge, 30-29, in the series, breaking the tie with 59-57 victory in the second meeting last season. The series matches another border rivalry, the Minnesota/Iowa series, for the longest in Minnesota women's basketball history. Not Close to Being Close Interestingly enough, the outcomes all 11 of the Golden Gopher games, eight wins and three losses, have all come by double-digit margins. Minnesota 's 10-point loss to South Dakota State (55-65) is the "closest" result of the season. The "closest" Gopher win was a 12-point margin, 68-56 over North Dakota State . Hoping the Lid is Off the Basket Through nine games of the season, Minnesota was one of the highest scoring teams in the Big Ten averaging 77.4 points per game. The Gophers' offensive has struggled in the last two games scoring a combined 97 points for an average of 48.5 points a game. The cold spell has lowered Minnesota 's season average to 72.2 points an outing. Emmy Continues Climb Up Scoring Chart Emily Fox started her season in 13th on the Minnesota all-time leading scorers list and is currently 11th with 1,198 career points. Looking ahead, Fox's next target on the list in 10th place is Ellen Kramer (1987-91) with 1,336 points. Ohm Firing on Record Pace From Long Range Katie Ohm has been sensational from behind the arc this season. Her 36 three-point field goals in on record pace to set Minnesota 's single-season record of 73 (Lindsay Lieser, 2001-02; and Shannon Schonrock, 2004-05). Ohm has 12 more three-point field goals made than her nearest Big Ten competitor. It Starts With the Defense Minnesota has used its pressure defense to force opponents into an average of 21.6 turnovers a game. In six games this season, the Gophers have snagged 10 or more steals to lead the Big Ten with an average of 10.55 steals per game. Extra Opportunities A team can win a lot of games if they enjoy continuous success in this statistic - turnover margin. Minnesota   with a ratio of +5.09 owns a ratio of nearly twice that of its nearest Big Ten rival - Indiana at +2.60. In easy terms, Minnesota 's defense is giving its offense extra possessions to the tune of over five a game. Coaches Love This One Minnesota's starting backcourt of Brittany McCoy and Emily Fox are ranked first and second in the Big Ten statistics in a very important, but under-appreciated stat of assist-to-turnover ratio. McCoy checks in with a ratio of 1.87 with 58 assists and 31 turnovers. Fox has 46 assists to 29 turnovers for a 1.59 assist/turnover ratio. The duo enjoyed their best collective outing versus Boston College , combining for 13 assists without a single turnover.