Garcia, Carrington close to returning for Gophers

The Gophers men’s basketball team will try to end their 8-game losing streak when they host Penn State Saturday night.

Good news: A source tells KSTP Sports that forward Dawson Garcia, who has missed the last five games with a bone bruise, is more probable than questionable to play. Guard Braeden Carrington (right leg) is also moving closer to playing. He’s been out since mid-January.

KSTP Sports spoke with coach Ben Johnson and players Jamison Battle and Taurus Samuels on Friday.

***Click the video box above to watch the media availability***

Saturday begins a stretch of four games in seven days for the Gophers — Monday’s game at Illinois was supposed to happen Feb. 7, but the Gophers didn’t have enough available scholarship players.

Saturday is the Gophers’ first game since last weekend when they fell at home to Iowa. The Gophers’ game on Feb. 15 at Michigan State was canceled after a shooting on the East Lansing campus. Johnson said Friday that no date has been determined for rescheduling the game. It’s possible that the game won’t be rescheduled.