As Minnesota (11-2, 1-1) enters the main body of its Big Ten schedule the scouting report on them is pretty basic. This is a tall, long, athletic roster that is big on the perimeter and strong inside. The guards can get to the rim and the big men are walking double-doubles. Their weakness is the outside shooting. The obvious way to guard them is to pack the defense in, help on the posts, and dare them to make the 3-pointer.
That was the game plan for Mount St. Mary's (3-10) going into Sunday's action and it will be the plan of attack for Wisconsin when the Gophers resume Big Ten play on Thursday night.
In its 71-53 win, Minnesota outscored its opponent in the paint 34-22. It won the rebounding battle 34-22. They got to the foul line 30 times compared to the Mount's 10. They shot 54.5 percent from inside the arc, but just 21 percent from behind it.
To quote the Vikings former Head Coach, Dennis Green, they were who we thought they were.
Except they now have one more addition. In the best news of the day, Eric Curry returned to the court for the first time since March of 2017. The 6-foot-9, 240 pound center's season debut couldn't be seen as anything else but positive. He had 4 points and 6 rebounds, but more importantly was able to log 17 minutes of play, adding even more depth to a vaunted inside game.
The Gophers got out to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back, although it wasn't able to stretch that lead out against an outmatched opponent. Daniel Oturu made the game's first bucket on his way to his fourth straight double-double. Dupree McBrayer also put his fingerprints on the game during that run by scoring five straight points and feeding Amir Coffey for a dunk. Minnesota forced turnovers and got out on the break. Two of the first four buckets were on the run.
The Mount made a move of their own to cut the lead to 11-9 with 13:28 left. This chapter of the game was marked by a theme that would be a negative one for the Gophers throughout the contest. They committed three turnovers in four possessions. Jordan Murphy had problems with the ball side dig from entry pass's defender. Oturu also turned it over due to a hard post double. Isaiah Washington also made an ill-advised lob inside when there were two other defensive players in help waiting to pounce. The Mount also got some mileage with their guards getting to the rim off the high ball screen.
Minnesota then took its turn in a game of spurts with their own 8-2 run to go back up 19-11 with nine minutes left. The highlight was Curry getting his first bucket this season in transition at the 12:45 mark. The Gophers did a good job of getting to the rim in this run. Murphy was fouled inside and made two foul shots. Brock Stull and Isaiah Washington also made two layups as they looked to run at every opportunity.
The two teams went back and forth although the offense was minimal. They took their biggest lead at 25-14 as Murphy hit Curry for a layup with a beautiful post to post pass.. They were unable to push the lead out any farther as they went into the locker room leading 31-23 at the half.
The game in the first twenty minutes was actually closer than the score indicated. Minnesota had only two more field goals than Mount St. Mary's. Both teams were 2 for 10 from deep. The Gophers also made four more foul shots on five more attempts. Their coach, Dan Engelstad, perhaps had the best defensive game plan of the season thus far. Pack it in and swarm the big men.
Minnesota got off to a good start once again to begin a half. They extended the lead to 38-25 in the first four minutes, then moved it to 44-28 at the 13:39 mark. Coffey and Kalscheur combined for the brunt of the points, but the story was the defense. The Mount did not score in the first four minutes. They were 2 of 9 shooting in that six and a half minute stretch.
The Mount scored the next ten points by doing something Minnesota struggled with. They made three straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to 44-38. Things got even hairier from there. The 24.5 point underdog cut the lead all the way down to six at 51-45 with 7:16 left in the game.
We have spoken about themes of the game. The biggest factor of the game was Minnesota's ability to pile up fouls on the Mount and make them pay at the charity stripe. 11 of their next 16 points came from the charity stripe as they eventually pulled away for an eighteen point win.
The Gophers had four players in double-figures. McBrayer led the team in scoring with 15. His 3-point shooting was needed. He was 3 for 6. Take him away and the team was 1 for 13 overall.
Coffey followed with 13 points. He did the majority fo his damage by getting into the land against the smaller defenders and drawing fouls. He made 7 of 8 free throw attempts. Oturu had his fourth consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Perhaps the most puzzling part of the game was Jordan Murphy's stat line. The workhorse had only two field goal attempts for the game. He was swarmed on every touch. He ended up with twice as many turnovers as field goal attempts. He nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds, but eight of his points were from foul shots as well.
Gabe Kalscheur and Isaiah Washington both had 6 points. Kalscheur's 3-point troubles continued as he went 1 for 6. Washington had been averaging double figure assists in the last two games, but only had two on Sunday.
Eric Curry followed with 4 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Hurt had 3 points and 2 rebounds. Brock Still also contributed with a pair of points.
Minnesota shot 42.3 percent from field and just 21.1 percent from behind the arc. They were 54.5 percent from inside the arc. They also got to the line 30 times for the game, making 23 for a decent 76.7 percent clip. They got to the line 23 times in the second half and made 18.
The Gophers scored 34 points in the paint. Combine that with 23 free throws and 57 of their 71 points came with 15 feet of the bucket.
Defensively, the held Mount St. Mary's to 33.9 percent shooting for the game and 33.3 percent shooting from deep. They only got to the line ten times compared to thirty for Minnesota. A very interesting number was Minnesota made 18 more foul shots in an 18 point win. The Gophers also had eight more rebounds.
Now, the attention turns to Big Ten play where they are 1-1 thus far. The Gophers will travel to. fifteenth ranked Wisconsin on Thursday night who are 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
That was the game plan for Mount St. Mary's (3-10) going into Sunday's action and it will be the plan of attack for Wisconsin when the Gophers resume Big Ten play on Thursday night.
In its 71-53 win, Minnesota outscored its opponent in the paint 34-22. It won the rebounding battle 34-22. They got to the foul line 30 times compared to the Mount's 10. They shot 54.5 percent from inside the arc, but just 21 percent from behind it.
To quote the Vikings former Head Coach, Dennis Green, they were who we thought they were.
Except they now have one more addition. In the best news of the day, Eric Curry returned to the court for the first time since March of 2017. The 6-foot-9, 240 pound center's season debut couldn't be seen as anything else but positive. He had 4 points and 6 rebounds, but more importantly was able to log 17 minutes of play, adding even more depth to a vaunted inside game.
The Gophers got out to a quick 9-0 lead and never looked back, although it wasn't able to stretch that lead out against an outmatched opponent. Daniel Oturu made the game's first bucket on his way to his fourth straight double-double. Dupree McBrayer also put his fingerprints on the game during that run by scoring five straight points and feeding Amir Coffey for a dunk. Minnesota forced turnovers and got out on the break. Two of the first four buckets were on the run.
The Mount made a move of their own to cut the lead to 11-9 with 13:28 left. This chapter of the game was marked by a theme that would be a negative one for the Gophers throughout the contest. They committed three turnovers in four possessions. Jordan Murphy had problems with the ball side dig from entry pass's defender. Oturu also turned it over due to a hard post double. Isaiah Washington also made an ill-advised lob inside when there were two other defensive players in help waiting to pounce. The Mount also got some mileage with their guards getting to the rim off the high ball screen.
Minnesota then took its turn in a game of spurts with their own 8-2 run to go back up 19-11 with nine minutes left. The highlight was Curry getting his first bucket this season in transition at the 12:45 mark. The Gophers did a good job of getting to the rim in this run. Murphy was fouled inside and made two foul shots. Brock Stull and Isaiah Washington also made two layups as they looked to run at every opportunity.
The two teams went back and forth although the offense was minimal. They took their biggest lead at 25-14 as Murphy hit Curry for a layup with a beautiful post to post pass.. They were unable to push the lead out any farther as they went into the locker room leading 31-23 at the half.
The game in the first twenty minutes was actually closer than the score indicated. Minnesota had only two more field goals than Mount St. Mary's. Both teams were 2 for 10 from deep. The Gophers also made four more foul shots on five more attempts. Their coach, Dan Engelstad, perhaps had the best defensive game plan of the season thus far. Pack it in and swarm the big men.
Minnesota got off to a good start once again to begin a half. They extended the lead to 38-25 in the first four minutes, then moved it to 44-28 at the 13:39 mark. Coffey and Kalscheur combined for the brunt of the points, but the story was the defense. The Mount did not score in the first four minutes. They were 2 of 9 shooting in that six and a half minute stretch.
The Mount scored the next ten points by doing something Minnesota struggled with. They made three straight 3-pointers to trim the lead to 44-38. Things got even hairier from there. The 24.5 point underdog cut the lead all the way down to six at 51-45 with 7:16 left in the game.
We have spoken about themes of the game. The biggest factor of the game was Minnesota's ability to pile up fouls on the Mount and make them pay at the charity stripe. 11 of their next 16 points came from the charity stripe as they eventually pulled away for an eighteen point win.
The Gophers had four players in double-figures. McBrayer led the team in scoring with 15. His 3-point shooting was needed. He was 3 for 6. Take him away and the team was 1 for 13 overall.
Coffey followed with 13 points. He did the majority fo his damage by getting into the land against the smaller defenders and drawing fouls. He made 7 of 8 free throw attempts. Oturu had his fourth consecutive double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Perhaps the most puzzling part of the game was Jordan Murphy's stat line. The workhorse had only two field goal attempts for the game. He was swarmed on every touch. He ended up with twice as many turnovers as field goal attempts. He nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 9 rebounds, but eight of his points were from foul shots as well.
Gabe Kalscheur and Isaiah Washington both had 6 points. Kalscheur's 3-point troubles continued as he went 1 for 6. Washington had been averaging double figure assists in the last two games, but only had two on Sunday.
Eric Curry followed with 4 points and 6 rebounds. Michael Hurt had 3 points and 2 rebounds. Brock Still also contributed with a pair of points.
Minnesota shot 42.3 percent from field and just 21.1 percent from behind the arc. They were 54.5 percent from inside the arc. They also got to the line 30 times for the game, making 23 for a decent 76.7 percent clip. They got to the line 23 times in the second half and made 18.
The Gophers scored 34 points in the paint. Combine that with 23 free throws and 57 of their 71 points came with 15 feet of the bucket.
Defensively, the held Mount St. Mary's to 33.9 percent shooting for the game and 33.3 percent shooting from deep. They only got to the line ten times compared to thirty for Minnesota. A very interesting number was Minnesota made 18 more foul shots in an 18 point win. The Gophers also had eight more rebounds.
Now, the attention turns to Big Ten play where they are 1-1 thus far. The Gophers will travel to. fifteenth ranked Wisconsin on Thursday night who are 10-3 overall and 2-0 in the conference.
