NCAA Men’s Basketball action will resume with a high-stakes ranked clash between the #25 Ohio State Buckeyes and the #21 Minnesota Golden Gophers.

While the Buckeyes are ranked last in the AP Poll, their ranking isn’t necessarily a reflection of their aptitude. The same goes for the Golden Gophers, who have been producing some big wins this season.

The Buckeyes head into this game 8-2. However, their losses were to Purdue and Northwestern University, two schools ranked under them at the time. But they have had big wins against Rutgers, Nebraska, and UCLA.

The Golden Gophers burst into mainstream recognition after they took down the then #3 Iowa Hawkeyes. They followed it up with a big win over the Michigan State Spartans but fell to a big loss at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers.

Which one of these low-ranking teams solidifies their spot in next week’s rankings and gets a very important conference win?

NCAA Men’s Basketball: Can Ohio State hold the Gophers to a loss?

With the announcement of Musa Jallow being available for this game, the Buckeyes have received a massive boost. They are coming off a free-scoring rout of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, and this game has come at the perfect time. Just as they are coming off a big win, their opponents are coming off a big loss.

The Golden Gophers shot under 32% in their 12-point loss to the Badgers. While Wisconsin was the better team, the game seemed lopsided from the start.

The Golden Gophers have been surprising Big 10 contenders and are now ranked themselves. If Minnesota starts hitting their shots, there are very few teams that can stop them.

The Buckeyes will start Duane Washington Jr, CJ Walker, Justice Sueing, E.J. Liddell, and Kyle Young. The Gophers will take the floor with Marcus Carr, Both Gach, Gabe Kalscheur, Brandon Johnson and, Liam Robbins.

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For our prediction, we are going with the Buckeyes. They have a full-strength team at home against closely matched opposition. The scales seem to skew slightly in their favor.