minnesota-golden-gophers

(Photo Credit: Gophersports.com)

The Hoosiers go back on the road in the increasingly competitive Big Ten and travel to historic Williams Arena in Minneapolis, MN to face the Golden Gophers.

After an impressive road win against Michigan State, Indiana has now dropped two in a row at home against Iowa and Ohio State. The once safe-space for the Hoosiers to secure victories has now been lost and the Hoosiers are scrambling to pick up the rest of the season and secure a spot for the NCAA Tournament. Hope still remains for the Hoosiers, but it is becoming dimmer with each loss the Hoosiers accumulate.

Minnesota is ranked 52th overall, according to KenPom and are currently 8th in the Big Ten. The team also is ranked in the top 70 in both offensive and defensive efficiency. So far this year, Minnesota has largely flown under the radar largely because of the perception of their inconsistency and their consistently lackluster record and recruiting. It seems as if each season they are projected to take a step forward and each season find a way to stumble. They are always not quite good enough to trust but not quite bad enough to start over with a rebuild. This trend has continued this season. The Gophers started off 3-2 in conference play with victories over then – #24 Nebraska and then – #22 Wisconsin. But, as usual, the team soon promptly lost to conference bottom-feeder Illinois. Just as they take a step forward, they take two backward, which feels similar to the Hoosiers this season.

The Gophers have lost 4 straight coming into their match up against IU but these losses were all against some of the league’s best: Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and most recently Nebraska. The loss to Nebraska was particularly devastating, as Minnesota fell by only one point as Husker star James Palmer sunk two free-throws with 1.1 seconds remaining. Still, Minnesota has proven that they have the potential to be dangerous especially at home as seen by their 11-2 record. Indiana is only 2-7 on the road currently with wins against Penn State and Michigan State. The squad has 4 players that average double digits. Their offense is almost entirely predicated on being productive from the free-throw line and inside the arc. And like Indiana, Minnesota struggles from three but otherwise is quite efficient offensively.

Moreover, Minnesota is a terrific offensive rebounding team. Their offensive rebounding percentage is 34.1%, which is 36th in the nation and nearly 6 percentage points higher than the national average. For comparison purposes, Indiana sits only at 213th (27.3%). Thus, Minnesota will have a decided advantage on the boards.

Other Minnesota statistics of note:

  • Field-goal percentage: 44.3%
  • Points per game: 72.1
  • Opponents points per game: 69.7
  • Average progression length: 17.6 seconds
  • Point distribution: 55.1% from 2s (30th), 21.6% from 3s (349th), and 23.2% from the free-throws (14th)
  • Minnesota is last in the Big Ten in 3 point shooting and No. 308 nationally

Meet the Golden Gophers

Departing Players

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  • Nate Mason – 6’2” / 190 lbs / Guard – Decatur, GA.
  • Reggie Lynch – 6’10” / 260 lbs / Center – Edina, MN. Dismissed from the program last season.
  • Davonte Fitzgerald – 6’8” / 220 lbs / Forward – Atlanta, GA. Departed as a graduate transfer to Stephen F. Austin.
  • Jamir Harris – 6’2” / 190 lbs / Guard – North Brunswick, NJ. Transferred during the Spring and landed at American University.
  • Bakary Konate – 6’11” / 240 lbs / Center – Bamako, Mali.
  • Gaston Diedhiou – 6’10” / 245 lbs / Forward – Dakar, Senegal.

Projected Starters

  • Jordan Murphy – 6’7” / 250 lbs / Forward / Senior – San Antonio, TX. Since 1985, no one in the Big Ten has had more rebounds than Murphy. He averages nearly 12 rebounds a game while adding 14.5 ppg.
  • Amir Coffey – 6’8” / 210 lbs / Guard / Junior – Hopkins, MN. Scoring leader for the team with 15.3 ppg.
  • Daniel Oturu – 6’10” / 225 lbs / Center / Freshman – Woodbury, MN. Big man for the team that adds another 7.4 rebounds/game. Top 50 recruit from 2018.
  • Gabe Kalscheur – 6’4” / 200 lbs / Guard / Freshman – Edina, MN. Deep threat who is 11th in the Big Ten in 3 point attempts. Also, has a very high turnover % at 10% of plays.
  • Dupree McBrayer – 6’5” / 195 lbs / Guard / Senior – Queens, NY. Multiyear starter and additional deep threat for the Golden Gophers. Only starter to not average 10 ppg, but close at 9.5.

The Rotation

  • Isaiah Washington – 6’1” / 195 lbs / Guard / Sophomore – Harlem, NY.
  • Michael Hurt – 6’7” / 220 lbs / Forward / Junior – Rochester, NY.
  • Matz Stockman – 7’0” / 245 lbs / Center / RS Senior – Oslo, Norway.
  • Jarvis Omersa – 6’6” / 225 lbs / Forward / Freshman – Orono, MN.
  • Brock Stull – 6’4” / 210 lbs / Guard / RS Senior – Rockford, IL.

Injury Watch

For Minnesota, Eric Curry has been battling a calf injury and is a game time decision for Minnesota’s game against Nebraska on Wednesday.

For Indiana, Juwan Morgan is playing at full capacity after his shoulder injury against Michigan State.

Race Thompson has been cleared and ready to go; however, he has yet to see court minutes since his clearing.

Zach McRoberts was held out against Iowa and Ohio State due to a stress reaction in his foot.

Jerome Hunter is red-shirting this year after going through surgery for his leg injury. He has been recovering well from surgery per Archie.