It’s back to the drawing board, again. It seems that whenever the Hoosiers have anything good going, there is an inevitable road bump that knocks them back humbly. After a tough road loss against Michigan where the Hoosiers played some of the worst defense all season long, Archie Miller continues the road trip with his team as they go up north to Minneapolis to take on the 12-12 Golden Gophers, who have currently lost four out of their last five games. Most recently, Richard Pitino’s team took a heartbreaking home loss to Iowa where a last minute run put the Hawkeyes on top.

For reference, 16-9 Indiana is in a similar situation as they have lost five of their last six.

The Hoosiers, who are currently ranked 49 in KenPom, will be taking on the number 31 team in the country despite the gap in overall records. Minnesota is currently the 35th best team according to adjusted offense and the 48th best team according to adjusted defense.

How to Watch

WhoIndiana Hoosiers at Minnesota Golden Gophers
WhenWednesday, Feb 19, 2020, 9:00 p.m. ET
WhereWilliams Arena — Minneapolis, Minn.
TicketsFind the Lowest Tickets on SeatGeek
WatchBTN
ListenIU Sports Network
StatsLive Stats
SpreadMINN -6, O/U 136

Getting to know the Gophers

If the John R. Wooden Award was given to a player in the Big Ten, Iowa’s Luka Garza is currently the most probable. However, right behind him from the Big Ten is Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu, who is currently ranked eighth overall in KenPom’s Player of the Year predictor.

The 6-foot-10 sophomore Minnesota-native ranks among the top 100 players in the nation in effective field goal percentage, true shooting percentage, offensive rebounding percentage, and block percentage. He ranks just outside the top 100 in defensive rebounding percentage at 102.

Oturu currently averages a double-double at 19.9 points and 11.3 rebounds. He is an offensive powerhouse and his activity in the paint makes him one of the top rebounders in the league, now that the Gophers have graduated Jordan Murphy. He shoots 57.6% on the floor, which includes being a respectable 30% shooter from distance. Minnesota’s star big does it all for the Gophers and he will be one of the main forces to handle for the Hoosiers.

With his 7-foot-3 wing span, Oturu’s defensive presence is simply scary as he has been getting 2.7 blocks per game for the Gophers. The Hoosiers have been somewhat turnover prone in recent games and another lengthy opponent will continue to create problems for Archie Miller’s group.

Indiana is coming off of a tough game where they were completed blown out on the boards against Michigan. The Wolverines ability to position in the paint caused a ton of problems for Indiana’s bigs who have played relatively all season long up until that point. It will be another test for the Indiana frontcourt on Wednesday evening.

Surrounding Oturu, the Gophers have a number of scorers that compose of Minnesota’s offense, which ranks top 35 in adjusted offense according to KenPom. Sophomores Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur are the younger pair of guards for the Gophers, but that has not hindered the backcourt duo. The former-Pitt player is currently averaging 15.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. He is the Gophers main facilitator getting 6.9 assists per game, which is good for second in the entire Big Ten.

Carr is a relentless attacker and is consistently looking to feed his big in the paint. He can be overly focused on scoring, which results in some lapses in coverage on defense. Depending on who he is assigned, Indiana may have some opportunities to take advantage of the offensive match up.

Kalscheur should be a more familiar name for Indiana fans, but probably for the wrong reasons. He dropped 20 points on the Hoosiers last season, going 6 of 8 from behind the arc. His three-point percentage has declined since last season as he is now only making about one out of every three attempts.

Junior Payton Willis rounds out Minnesota’s backcourt. The Arkansas-native will be the sharpshooter that Indiana has to cover closely. Willis is averaging a career-high 9.1 points per game, which includes a career-high 38.2% shooting from three-point territory.

Alihan Demir finishes the Minnesota starting five. The Turkey-native has played in a number of stops previously, including a season at Central Wyoming and two seasons at Drexel. The 6-foot-9 senior adds needed size to the Gophers’ lineup and plays opportunistically. Demir knows that he is not the most athletic body in the building, so instead of trying to jump out of the gym, he relies on fundamentals and being in the right place at the right time. Demir also adds a much needed defensive flavor to the team, as that was one of the biggest characteristics of his recruitment to Minnesota.