Indiana opens Large Ten play tonight towards Minnesota at Simon Skjodt Meeting Corridor. The Golden Gophers are 6-4 and misplaced their Large Ten opener 90-72 to Michigan State at Williams Area.
Tonight’s recreation ideas at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1:
Indiana will look to proceed its current dominance towards Minnesota because it begins Large Ten play this night in Bloomington. The Hoosiers lead the all-time sequence towards the Golden Gophers 109-69 and have gained eight straight.
Minnesota has misplaced three of its final 4, which included hard-fought impartial court docket video games towards Wichita State and Wake Forest and a house loss to Michigan State final Wednesday.
The Hoosiers, in the meantime, have gained three in a row and are 6-0 this season on Department McCracken Court docket.
MEET THE GOPHERS
Ben Johnson is in his fourth season in Minneapolis. Final season, he led the Golden Gophers to the postseason for the primary time, an NIT look that included a win at Butler and a loss at Indiana State.
With restricted NIL sources, Minnesota was hit onerous with switch portal departures as level guard Elijah Hawkins left for Texas Tech, Pharrel Payne departed for Texas A&M and Joshua Ola-Joseph bolted for Cal. Minnesota additionally misplaced Cam Christie to the NBA after his freshman season.
The headlining returnees for Minnesota are a pair of seniors, Dawson Garcia and Mike Mitchell.
The 6-foot-11 Garcia is a flexible inside-out menace who averages 19 factors and seven.4 rebounds in 33.9 minutes per recreation. Garcia is taking pictures 35.9 % on 3s and 82.9 % on free throws. Attending to the road is a big energy for Garcia, who’s trying seven free throws per recreation.
Mitchell suffered an ankle harm in a win towards Omaha on Nov. 9 and didn’t return to the lineup till Wednesday’s loss towards the Spartans. The 6-foot-2 guard was 71-for-178 (39.9 %) on 3s final season and is 8-for-18 (44.4 %) in three video games this season.
The Gophers have been beginning a pair of transfers, Lu’Cye Patterson and Brennan Rigsby, within the backcourt. Patterson, a 6-foot-2 switch from Charlotte, averages a team-high 3.9 assists and is second on the group in scoring at 10 factors per recreation. He’s struggled along with his 3-point shot by way of the primary 10 video games. Patterson is simply 12-for-52 (23.1 %) from distance.
The identical has been true for Oregon switch Brennan Rigsby. The 6-foot-3 senior shot 35.3 % on triples final season for the Geese however is simply 10-for-45 (22.2 %) this season.
Senior wing Femi Okudale is now at his fourth faculty after earlier stops at Pittsburgh, Seton Corridor and New Mexico State. The 6-foot-6 Okudale has began the final eight video games and is taking pictures simply 35 % from the sphere.
Frank Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 switch from Canisius, joins Garcia within the frontcourt. Mitchell is taking pictures 59.3 % and averages 4 factors and 4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per recreation.
The important thing reserves to know for the Gophers are freshman guard Isaac Asuma and senior ahead Parker Fox. Asuma performs 27.2 minutes off the bench and averages 5.7 factors and three.5 rebounds. He’s taking pictures 42.6 % from the sphere and 40 % (12-for-30) on 3s.
Fox, now in his fifth yr of school basketball however simply his second season on the Division I stage, is Minnesota’s fourth main scorer at seven factors per recreation. He’s taking pictures a scorching 65.9 % from the sphere and is tied for the group lead with 10 blocked pictures.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
In accordance with KenPom, Minnesota is enjoying the third slowest tempo of any group within the nation. The Gophers do a strong job dealing with the ball however have had poor taking pictures numbers by way of 10 video games.
Minnesota ranks 294th in 3-point taking pictures proportion (29.7), 184th in 2-point taking pictures proportion (51), and 352nd in free-throw proportion (61.7). The Gophers rating 28.5 % of their factors from third, which ranks 245th within the nation. Almost 38 % of their discipline purpose makes an attempt are 3s, which ranks 219th nationally.
Defensively, Minnesota does a strong job of forcing turnovers and defending with out fouling. Gopher opponents flip the ball over on 19.1 % of their possessions and have a free-throw price (FTA/FGA) of simply 26 %. Minnesota additionally ranks 61st nationally in 2-point discipline purpose proportion protection (46.3).
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Indiana by 10 with an 82 % likelihood of a Hoosier victory. Bart Torvik’s projections like IU by 11 with an 85 % likelihood for the Hoosiers to prevail.
Minnesota is coming off its worst defensive efficiency of the season. In a loss to Michigan State, the Gophers had been torched for 90 factors (1.4 factors per possession). This was simply the second time this season that the Gophers have allowed greater than a degree per possession.
That is the primary street recreation of the season for Minnesota, and it’ll be crucial that Indiana takes care of the ball and doesn’t enable the Gophers to get snug behind the 3-point line. The Garcia matchup may be difficult for the Hoosiers due to his capacity to play on the perimeter and stretch the ground with the 3-ball.
Extra importantly, Indiana should present extra urgency and consistency all through the sport. The Hoosiers have performed effectively in stretches however have had lapses all through video games which have allowed inferior competitors to stay round. With Large Ten play formally right here and a less-than-impressive begin to the season, will the Hoosiers be capable to change the narrative? Or are the up-and-down performances simply who Indiana is as a group?
(Photograph credit score: Minnesota Athletics)
Filed to: Minnesota Golden Gophers
