The University of Texas at Arlington traveled to Williams Arena for a road contest against the Minnesota Golden Gophers last night. UTA is highly considered as one of the top mid-major teams in the country this season and they were the preseason favorites to win the Sun Belt Conference and make a trip to the NCAA Tournament. They won road games last year against Ohio State and Memphis. They stacked their non-conference schedule once again this year with road games against the Gophers, Florida Gulf Coast, Arkansas, Texas, and St. Mary's. UTA point guard Erick Neal was a 1st Team All-Sun Belt honoree last year after he averaged 12.7 ppg and 6.2 assists. Forward Kevin Hervey was named the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year after averaging 18.1 ppg and 9.8 rebounds per game last season.
1st Half:
-Minnesota couldn't hit anything from the field. They shot just 9-30 in the half. There were plenty of missed open jump shots and the Golden Gophers were just 2-12 from the three point line.
-Most of the Gophers points came from the free-throw line. They were 15-19 from the stripe, and two of the misses were from point guard Nate Mason.
-Dupree McBrayer carried the offensive load at times during the first half. You can tell he has really worked on his ball-handling and creating separation off the dribble. He had a beautiful crossover to his right followed by a step back jumper at the top of the key that hit nothing but net. He also had another jumper and a fast break dunk along with making three of his four free throws for nine points. He went 3-4 from the field.
-Ahmad Gilbert didn't play a ton, but he was crucial during the final stretch of the half. He checked into the game and in back to back possessions hit a floater in the lane off of a pass from Nate Mason and a three-pointer from the top of the key in transition. He had five points in six minutes off the bench, which is a quality contribution for limited minutes.
-The defense was strong for the most part. The Gophers look significantly improved with their man to man defense and moving their feet to make it difficult on the opposition. The downside in the first half was that UTA was absolutely on fire from three-point range. They drilled nine three's in eighteen attempts and took a six-point lead into the break.
-Minnesota, however, forced nine first-half turnovers and won the rebounding edge 22-19, led by Nate Mason with 5 and Curry and Springs with 4.
-UTA point guard Erick Neal was the best player on the court in the first half. He was terrific in his navigation of the pick-and-roll and he hit four three's in seven attempts to lead all scorers with 12 points. He also chipped in three rebounds and three assists in the first 20 minutes.
-The Gophers were in a bit of foul trouble in the first half as Coffey, McBrayer and Lynch had two fouls. They had eight team fouls in the first half compared to 14 team fouls for UTA.
2nd Half:
-The second half was a completely different story than the first for UTA on the offensive end. Their three's were not falling anymore as they hit just one of their eight attempts in the 2nd half. The Gophers went on a 30-5 run to start the second half and essentially put the game out of reach. How did they do so?
-Defense set the tone. After being held scoreless in the first half, true freshman Amir Coffey was excellent in the second half. He had two big steals to get his team out in transition and he was able to finish in close. He scored all ten of his points in the second half. He shot 3-11 on the day and he struggled from the perimeter, missing all four of his three point shots. Even when the shots weren't falling, his length on defense really affected the game and he was able to make plays in the lane to get the Gophers the lead.
-Reggie Lynch came on strong in the second half as well. With the Gophers trailing by five early in the half, he scored on back-to-back possessions in sort of unusual ways. He caught a pass in the post and hit a shot high off the backboard for his first bucket. He then followed that up with a running baby hook over his left shoulder from about 10 feet. It looked a bit funky but it did the job. He finished with a very solid 14 points and five rebounds in just 16 minutes. He was 4-4 from the line, which was encouraging to see as well.
-Another true freshman, Eric Curry, had a big impact in the win as well. He played 27 minutes off the bench and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. He hit a mid-range jumper from the baseline, scored off a couple feeds from guards underneath, and also scored off an offensive rebound. He effects the game in so many ways and is wise beyond his years. He will take his lumps this season, but he is going to be one heck of a player.
-Murphy struggled all game shooting the ball, but he took advantage of the whitsle happy referees to get to the free throw line for his points last night. Murph was 7-8 from the line and he finished with 11 points and a team high 12 rebounds.
-Nate Mason is definitely this team's most valuable player and is the spark plug that makes the Gophers "go." He filled the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. He had a poor night shooting but still found a way to get it done. The only true point guard on the roster, he will be leaned on heavily in the coming months.
-The Gophers outrebounded UTA 47-32, and that is notable because Arlington was one of the top rebounding teams in their conference last year.
-Stingy defense and attacking the hoop were keys to the Gophers run in the second half, as the shots from three-point land just weren't falling and they had to find other ways to score.
-UTA star Kevin Hervey is still recovering from a major knee injury he suffered last January and he had just eight points in 23 minutes.
What we Learned:
-Rebounding and defense will be much improved in 2016-2017. The Gophers have guys that are athletic and can block shots (Lynch, Curry, Murphy), and their length and quickness on defense is improved and is helped by newcomers Coffey, Springs, and Curry.
-Get to the paint. This team isn't going to shoot the lights out from three very often, and their cold shooting from the arc showed that they need to make a living inside the arc and at the free-throw line.
-The rotation will be 8-9 players on most nights, with either Hurt or Gilbert getting minutes as the eighth man. Gilbert played well last night in just a few minutes off the bench. Pitino was looking for a guy that could come in and score and hit open shots, and Ahmad filled that role perfectly.
-The scoring will come from different sources every night. There is no one guy that needs to score 15-20 points for this team to win games. Curry, Murphy, Lynch, Mason, McBrayer, and Coffey all had between 10 and 15 points. Springs had just three points, but there will for sure be games where he is knocking down shots and helps to carry the load scoring as well.
Up Next: Wednesday, November 16th at Williams Arena vs. Mt. St. Mary's at 7:00 p.m.
1st Half:
-Minnesota couldn't hit anything from the field. They shot just 9-30 in the half. There were plenty of missed open jump shots and the Golden Gophers were just 2-12 from the three point line.
-Most of the Gophers points came from the free-throw line. They were 15-19 from the stripe, and two of the misses were from point guard Nate Mason.
-Dupree McBrayer carried the offensive load at times during the first half. You can tell he has really worked on his ball-handling and creating separation off the dribble. He had a beautiful crossover to his right followed by a step back jumper at the top of the key that hit nothing but net. He also had another jumper and a fast break dunk along with making three of his four free throws for nine points. He went 3-4 from the field.
-Ahmad Gilbert didn't play a ton, but he was crucial during the final stretch of the half. He checked into the game and in back to back possessions hit a floater in the lane off of a pass from Nate Mason and a three-pointer from the top of the key in transition. He had five points in six minutes off the bench, which is a quality contribution for limited minutes.
-The defense was strong for the most part. The Gophers look significantly improved with their man to man defense and moving their feet to make it difficult on the opposition. The downside in the first half was that UTA was absolutely on fire from three-point range. They drilled nine three's in eighteen attempts and took a six-point lead into the break.
-Minnesota, however, forced nine first-half turnovers and won the rebounding edge 22-19, led by Nate Mason with 5 and Curry and Springs with 4.
-UTA point guard Erick Neal was the best player on the court in the first half. He was terrific in his navigation of the pick-and-roll and he hit four three's in seven attempts to lead all scorers with 12 points. He also chipped in three rebounds and three assists in the first 20 minutes.
-The Gophers were in a bit of foul trouble in the first half as Coffey, McBrayer and Lynch had two fouls. They had eight team fouls in the first half compared to 14 team fouls for UTA.
2nd Half:
-The second half was a completely different story than the first for UTA on the offensive end. Their three's were not falling anymore as they hit just one of their eight attempts in the 2nd half. The Gophers went on a 30-5 run to start the second half and essentially put the game out of reach. How did they do so?
-Defense set the tone. After being held scoreless in the first half, true freshman Amir Coffey was excellent in the second half. He had two big steals to get his team out in transition and he was able to finish in close. He scored all ten of his points in the second half. He shot 3-11 on the day and he struggled from the perimeter, missing all four of his three point shots. Even when the shots weren't falling, his length on defense really affected the game and he was able to make plays in the lane to get the Gophers the lead.
-Reggie Lynch came on strong in the second half as well. With the Gophers trailing by five early in the half, he scored on back-to-back possessions in sort of unusual ways. He caught a pass in the post and hit a shot high off the backboard for his first bucket. He then followed that up with a running baby hook over his left shoulder from about 10 feet. It looked a bit funky but it did the job. He finished with a very solid 14 points and five rebounds in just 16 minutes. He was 4-4 from the line, which was encouraging to see as well.
-Another true freshman, Eric Curry, had a big impact in the win as well. He played 27 minutes off the bench and finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. He hit a mid-range jumper from the baseline, scored off a couple feeds from guards underneath, and also scored off an offensive rebound. He effects the game in so many ways and is wise beyond his years. He will take his lumps this season, but he is going to be one heck of a player.
-Murphy struggled all game shooting the ball, but he took advantage of the whitsle happy referees to get to the free throw line for his points last night. Murph was 7-8 from the line and he finished with 11 points and a team high 12 rebounds.
-Nate Mason is definitely this team's most valuable player and is the spark plug that makes the Gophers "go." He filled the stat sheet with 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. He had a poor night shooting but still found a way to get it done. The only true point guard on the roster, he will be leaned on heavily in the coming months.
-The Gophers outrebounded UTA 47-32, and that is notable because Arlington was one of the top rebounding teams in their conference last year.
-Stingy defense and attacking the hoop were keys to the Gophers run in the second half, as the shots from three-point land just weren't falling and they had to find other ways to score.
-UTA star Kevin Hervey is still recovering from a major knee injury he suffered last January and he had just eight points in 23 minutes.
What we Learned:
-Rebounding and defense will be much improved in 2016-2017. The Gophers have guys that are athletic and can block shots (Lynch, Curry, Murphy), and their length and quickness on defense is improved and is helped by newcomers Coffey, Springs, and Curry.
-Get to the paint. This team isn't going to shoot the lights out from three very often, and their cold shooting from the arc showed that they need to make a living inside the arc and at the free-throw line.
-The rotation will be 8-9 players on most nights, with either Hurt or Gilbert getting minutes as the eighth man. Gilbert played well last night in just a few minutes off the bench. Pitino was looking for a guy that could come in and score and hit open shots, and Ahmad filled that role perfectly.
-The scoring will come from different sources every night. There is no one guy that needs to score 15-20 points for this team to win games. Curry, Murphy, Lynch, Mason, McBrayer, and Coffey all had between 10 and 15 points. Springs had just three points, but there will for sure be games where he is knocking down shots and helps to carry the load scoring as well.
Up Next: Wednesday, November 16th at Williams Arena vs. Mt. St. Mary's at 7:00 p.m.
