Indiana opens Large Ten play tonight in opposition to 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 Enviornment.
Tonight’s sport suggestions at 6:30 p.m. ET on FS1:
Indiana will look to proceed its latest dominance in opposition to Minnesota because it begins Large Ten play this night in Bloomington. The Hoosiers lead the all-time collection in opposition to the Golden Gophers 109-69 and have received eight straight.
Minnesota has misplaced three of its final 4, which included hard-fought impartial court docket video games in opposition to Wichita State and Wake Forest and a house loss to Michigan State final Wednesday.
The Hoosiers, in the meantime, have received 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 assets, 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 sport. Garcia is capturing 35.9 p.c on 3s and 82.9 p.c on free throws. Attending to the road is a big energy for Garcia, who’s making an attempt seven free throws per sport.
Mitchell suffered an ankle damage in a win in opposition to Omaha on Nov. 9 and didn’t return to the lineup till Wednesday’s loss in opposition to the Spartans. The 6-foot-2 guard was 71-for-178 (39.9 p.c) on 3s final season and is 8-for-18 (44.4 p.c) 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 staff in scoring at 10 factors per sport. He’s struggled together with his 3-point shot by the primary 10 video games. Patterson is simply 12-for-52 (23.1 p.c) from distance.
The identical has been true for Oregon switch Brennan Rigsby. The 6-foot-3 senior shot 35.3 p.c on triples final season for the Geese however is simply 10-for-45 (22.2 p.c) 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 capturing simply 35 p.c from the sector.
Frank Mitchell, a 6-foot-8 switch from Canisius, joins Garcia within the frontcourt. Mitchell is capturing 59.3 p.c and averages 4 factors and 4 rebounds in 15.4 minutes per sport.
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 capturing 42.6 p.c from the sector and 40 p.c (12-for-30) on 3s.
Fox, now in his fifth 12 months of school basketball however simply his second season on the Division I stage, is Minnesota’s fourth main scorer at seven factors per sport. He’s capturing a scorching 65.9 p.c from the sector and is tied for the staff lead with 10 blocked photographs.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
In accordance with KenPom, Minnesota is enjoying the third slowest tempo of any staff within the nation. The Gophers do a stable job dealing with the ball however have had poor capturing numbers by 10 video games.
Minnesota ranks 294th in 3-point capturing share (29.7), 184th in 2-point capturing share (51), and 352nd in free-throw share (61.7). The Gophers rating 28.5 p.c of their factors from third, which ranks 245th within the nation. Practically 38 p.c of their area objective makes an attempt are 3s, which ranks 219th nationally.
Defensively, Minnesota does a stable job of forcing turnovers and defending with out fouling. Gopher opponents flip the ball over on 19.1 p.c of their possessions and have a free-throw charge (FTA/FGA) of simply 26 p.c. Minnesota additionally ranks 61st nationally in 2-point area objective share protection (46.3).
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Indiana by 10 with an 82 p.c probability of a Hoosier victory. Bart Torvik’s projections like IU by 11 with an 85 p.c probability 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 highway sport of the season for Minnesota, and it’ll be crucial that Indiana takes care of the ball and doesn’t permit the Gophers to get snug behind the 3-point line. The Garcia matchup is also tough for the Hoosiers due to his skill 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 properly 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 of change the narrative? Or are the up-and-down performances simply who Indiana is as a staff?
(Photograph credit score: Minnesota Athletics)
Filed to: Minnesota Golden Gophers
