Minnesota barely avoided a stunning loss the last time it took the court.The Golden Gophers want to avoid a similar situation from happening three days later.Minnesota (3-1) will go for back-to-back victories when it tips off against Chicago State (0-4) on Tuesday night in Minneapolis.The Golden Gophers have enjoyed a strong start under new coach Niko Medved, but their latest contest was dicey as they needed overtime to emerge with a 72-65 home win over Green Bay.Medved hopes that the close call helps his team improve in the long run.The Golden Gophers were favored by more than 25 points against Green Bay, which went 4-28 last season, however, the Phoenix looked like equals against Minnesota as they sent the game to the extra session on a layup with less than two seconds to go.”To our guys’ credit, I thought in the overtime guys stepped up,” Medved said. “(Jaylen Crocker-Johnson) made a couple of huge shots. (We) knocked down our free throws and found a way to get out of here with a win.”Free throws will be a point of emphasis when Minnesota takes on Chicago State. The Golden Gophers made only 20 of 39 at the foul line against Green Bay.
