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Dawson Garcia is Minnesota’s leader on both ends of the court.

His teammates know it. His opponents know it, too.

That is why opposing teams are doing anything they can to limit Garcia’s impact for Minnesota early in the season. The trend likely will continue when the Golden Gophers (4-1) host Central Michigan (3-2) on Monday night in Minneapolis.

“Obviously, we know he’s going to be the focal point,” Minnesota coach Ben Johnson said. “Other guys do have to step up. You’ve got to take some pressure off of him a little bit.”

Garcia leads the Golden Gophers with 23 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He is shooting 54.5 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from 3-point range.

Nobody else on Minnesota is averaging double digits in scoring, although four players have posted at least 6.5 points per game. The list of secondary scorers includes Brennan Rigsby (8.6 ppg), Parker Fox (7.8), Lu’Cye Patterson (7.2) and Mike Mitchell Jr. (6.5).

Central Michigan is looking for its third win in a row. The Chippewas are coming off back-to-back wins against George Mason and Division II Central State.

“(On Wednesday), it was our defense,” Central Michigan coach Tony Barbee said after his team’s 86-52 win over Central State. “Our defense was terrific today, holding them to 26 percent from the floor, 20 percent from 3-point range. …

“We want to play off of our defense and get guys out in transition and share the ball. … Now, we’re being better stewards with the basketball and not being as reckless as we were earlier in the year.”

Anthony Pritchard leads Central Michigan with 13.8 points per game to go along with a team-high five assists and 3.4 steals. Jakobi Heady is next on the scoring list with 13 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds, and Kyler Vanderjagt is averaging 11.4 points while shooting 47.4 percent from beyond the arc.

Minnesota leads the all-time series 5-0 against Central Michigan. The schools most recently faced one another Nov. 17, 2022, when the Golden Gophers held on for a 68-60 victory.

–Field Level Media