Even though Minnesota got off to a hot start and finished slowly in Saturday's win over Arkansas State, everything pretty well stuck to the script.
The Gophers took care of the Red Wolves 72-56. Vegas started the line at 19.5. Even though they didn't live up to that handicapping, it is not a shock that a team coming off such an emotional win over Nebraska would have difficulty staying focused for a complete forty minutes.
Arkansas State opened up in a 2-3 zone and Minnesota shredded it right out of the chute.
Gabe Kalscheur nailed a 3-pointer seventeen seconds into the game, and the Gophers never looked back. He, Daniel Oturu, Amir Coffey, and Matz Stockman all got into the scoring column as Minnesota extended the lead to 21-4 roughly seven minutes into the contest.
The rest of the first half saw the two teams play evenly, 20-20. But offensively, there was nice ball movement and each Gopher that played had at least one score.
Even though the sharing of the ball is something Richard Pitino has to be thrilled with, Daniel Oturu stood head and shoulders above the crowd in the first half. He scored 12 of his 19 points early, and almost had a double-double at the half, as he feasted on State's smaller lineup. He also had nine rebounds in the first twenty minutes.
Dupree McBrayer and Oturu each scored right off the bat in the second half and extended the lead to 45-24 with 18:54 left, the largest it would be for the entire game. From there, State cut the lead to 63-51 with 5:11 left, but they could not take advantage of Minnesota's sloppy play and get any closer.
Oturu had the best performance of his young career with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Six of his boards were on the offensive end. He also played a big part in protecting the rim and altering shots from the penetrating Red Wolf players. Oturu did major damage drawing fouls and then collecting the rewards, as he went 9 of 12 from the foul line.
McBrayer also gave another heroic effort in the shadow of his mother's death. The senior had 14 points on just seven shots. He made six of those and also went 2 of 3 from deep.
Amir Coffey stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. He was efficient shooting the ball as well. Coffey was 5 for 8 shooting, and also 2 of 3 from behind the arc.
Jordan Murphy and Kalscheur both chipped in nine. Murphy's numbers weren't as attractive as usual. but he was fine attracting the defense early on letting Oturu clean up inside. Murphy had four assists with some beautiful post to post passing, and as usual had 12 rebounds.
Kalscheur did his damage early on. He hit two quick 3-pointers to help build that insurmountable lead right off the bat. Kalscheur's 3 of 11 shooting and 2 for 7 from deep won't do his contribution justice.
Brock Stull led the bench with 6 points in ten minutes of play. He was 2 for 3 from behind the arc. This is the area he was brought in to help the team with. He has gotten off to a slow start in that department, so hopefully this performance might help him build confidence.
Stockman added 2 points and 2 rebounds, Micheal Hurt 1 point and 1 rebound, and Jarvis Omersa played and did not score.
Offensively
Minnesota was 25 of 54 from the field for a pedestrian 44.4 percent. However, this group has been struggling from the 3-point line and got some much needed long ball shooting tonight. They were 8 for 17. McBrayer, Coffey, and Stull were all 2 for 3. Kalscheur hit the other pair, despite having an off night. When others can make these shots beside the freshman, then they could be looking at some advantageous times.
The Gophers entered the game with a distinct advantage inside in personnel and size. It was expected that they would do damage around the rim, and they did by getting to the line 24
times for the game and making 16. The team also racked up 15 offensive rebounds.
The team's passing was outstanding in spots. Not only did they share the ball, but 19 of the 24 made buckets came via the assist. Coffey had 6. McBrayer and Murphy both had four. There were also numerous feeds that led to Gopher players getting on the foul line. State ran both man and zone, and Pitino's troops did a good job of moving the ball against both defenses.
The achilles heel for the team today was turnovers. There were 19 altogether. A huge reason was that the Gophers were just sloppy at times. ASU is quick on the perimeter, but they didn't really extend. When they did play man, it was of the soft variety, so there really wasn't a ton of defensive pressure. Speaking of ball handlers, Isaiah Washington only played six minutes. He was 0 for 4 from the field with one turnover and one assist.
Defensively
Arkansas State was 20 of 64 from the field for 31.3 percent. They were 8 for 20 for 40 percent. The Red Wolves got to the line ten times and had sixteen offensive rebounds. They also had 19 assists versus 14 turnovers. Minnesota won the rebounding battle 44-37.
Coming into the game, Pitino knew that State would push the ball and take quick shots. he also knew his players would have to account for Ty Cockfield. They did just that. The senior guard had 20 for the game, one short of his season average. He did that with a bulk of shots. Cockfield was 7 of 24 for the game. The blanketing defense extended out more than usual, and ran him off the 3-point line and into the Gophers' length in the lane.
Coffey was assigned to Cockfield and virtually locked him down with his package of quickness, tenacity, and long arms.
That brings us to one of the biggest factors of the game. Minnesota used its size, length, and athleticism to adjust and alter shots around the rim. State's coach Mike Balado mentioned after the game how difficult it was to finish over them.
Minnesota also broke out a new look by using the 2-2-1 and 1-2-1-1 zone press of made foul shots.
Notes: Daniel Oturu went down late with a sprained ankle. Pitino said he would be evaluated on Sunday.
McBrayer will leave Monday for his mother's funeral which is on Wednesday. He will miss Tuesday night's game against North Florida.
The Gophers took care of the Red Wolves 72-56. Vegas started the line at 19.5. Even though they didn't live up to that handicapping, it is not a shock that a team coming off such an emotional win over Nebraska would have difficulty staying focused for a complete forty minutes.
Arkansas State opened up in a 2-3 zone and Minnesota shredded it right out of the chute.
Gabe Kalscheur nailed a 3-pointer seventeen seconds into the game, and the Gophers never looked back. He, Daniel Oturu, Amir Coffey, and Matz Stockman all got into the scoring column as Minnesota extended the lead to 21-4 roughly seven minutes into the contest.
The rest of the first half saw the two teams play evenly, 20-20. But offensively, there was nice ball movement and each Gopher that played had at least one score.
Even though the sharing of the ball is something Richard Pitino has to be thrilled with, Daniel Oturu stood head and shoulders above the crowd in the first half. He scored 12 of his 19 points early, and almost had a double-double at the half, as he feasted on State's smaller lineup. He also had nine rebounds in the first twenty minutes.
Dupree McBrayer and Oturu each scored right off the bat in the second half and extended the lead to 45-24 with 18:54 left, the largest it would be for the entire game. From there, State cut the lead to 63-51 with 5:11 left, but they could not take advantage of Minnesota's sloppy play and get any closer.
Oturu had the best performance of his young career with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Six of his boards were on the offensive end. He also played a big part in protecting the rim and altering shots from the penetrating Red Wolf players. Oturu did major damage drawing fouls and then collecting the rewards, as he went 9 of 12 from the foul line.
McBrayer also gave another heroic effort in the shadow of his mother's death. The senior had 14 points on just seven shots. He made six of those and also went 2 of 3 from deep.
Amir Coffey stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists. He was efficient shooting the ball as well. Coffey was 5 for 8 shooting, and also 2 of 3 from behind the arc.
Jordan Murphy and Kalscheur both chipped in nine. Murphy's numbers weren't as attractive as usual. but he was fine attracting the defense early on letting Oturu clean up inside. Murphy had four assists with some beautiful post to post passing, and as usual had 12 rebounds.
Kalscheur did his damage early on. He hit two quick 3-pointers to help build that insurmountable lead right off the bat. Kalscheur's 3 of 11 shooting and 2 for 7 from deep won't do his contribution justice.
Brock Stull led the bench with 6 points in ten minutes of play. He was 2 for 3 from behind the arc. This is the area he was brought in to help the team with. He has gotten off to a slow start in that department, so hopefully this performance might help him build confidence.
Stockman added 2 points and 2 rebounds, Micheal Hurt 1 point and 1 rebound, and Jarvis Omersa played and did not score.
Offensively
Minnesota was 25 of 54 from the field for a pedestrian 44.4 percent. However, this group has been struggling from the 3-point line and got some much needed long ball shooting tonight. They were 8 for 17. McBrayer, Coffey, and Stull were all 2 for 3. Kalscheur hit the other pair, despite having an off night. When others can make these shots beside the freshman, then they could be looking at some advantageous times.
The Gophers entered the game with a distinct advantage inside in personnel and size. It was expected that they would do damage around the rim, and they did by getting to the line 24
times for the game and making 16. The team also racked up 15 offensive rebounds.
The team's passing was outstanding in spots. Not only did they share the ball, but 19 of the 24 made buckets came via the assist. Coffey had 6. McBrayer and Murphy both had four. There were also numerous feeds that led to Gopher players getting on the foul line. State ran both man and zone, and Pitino's troops did a good job of moving the ball against both defenses.
The achilles heel for the team today was turnovers. There were 19 altogether. A huge reason was that the Gophers were just sloppy at times. ASU is quick on the perimeter, but they didn't really extend. When they did play man, it was of the soft variety, so there really wasn't a ton of defensive pressure. Speaking of ball handlers, Isaiah Washington only played six minutes. He was 0 for 4 from the field with one turnover and one assist.
Defensively
Arkansas State was 20 of 64 from the field for 31.3 percent. They were 8 for 20 for 40 percent. The Red Wolves got to the line ten times and had sixteen offensive rebounds. They also had 19 assists versus 14 turnovers. Minnesota won the rebounding battle 44-37.
Coming into the game, Pitino knew that State would push the ball and take quick shots. he also knew his players would have to account for Ty Cockfield. They did just that. The senior guard had 20 for the game, one short of his season average. He did that with a bulk of shots. Cockfield was 7 of 24 for the game. The blanketing defense extended out more than usual, and ran him off the 3-point line and into the Gophers' length in the lane.
Coffey was assigned to Cockfield and virtually locked him down with his package of quickness, tenacity, and long arms.
That brings us to one of the biggest factors of the game. Minnesota used its size, length, and athleticism to adjust and alter shots around the rim. State's coach Mike Balado mentioned after the game how difficult it was to finish over them.
Minnesota also broke out a new look by using the 2-2-1 and 1-2-1-1 zone press of made foul shots.
Notes: Daniel Oturu went down late with a sprained ankle. Pitino said he would be evaluated on Sunday.
McBrayer will leave Monday for his mother's funeral which is on Wednesday. He will miss Tuesday night's game against North Florida.
