Minnnesota (7-2, 1-1) looks to build off its biggest win and most emotional game of the year this past Wednesday night. They will need to put a huge second half comeback against No.24 Nebraska in the rear view mirror, as they take on Arkansas State (2-6) Saturday afternoon, less than 72 hours later.
The Red Wolves have had a tough stretch of basketball as of late. Mike Balado was 11-21 last season in his first year at the helm. They were picked pre-season No. 11 in the twelve team Sun Belt league. He is currently 13-27 as the Head Coach in Jonesboro.
Minnesota will also be the first high major program ASU has played this season.
Balado is no stranger to the Pitino family. He was Richard's assistant at Florida Internatonal for two seasons then went to work with his father, Rick, at Louisville from 2013 to 2017.
The Red Wolves' playing style will be reminiscent of what Rick Pitino did for years, but the talent level is a far cry from what he had with the Cardinals.
Offensively, they will run a very fast paced offense. They will push the ball in transition, and the shot clock won't run down very far when they have it in the half-court.
They will run four out motion in which the post will come out and set a ball-screen in the middle of the floor. It also resembles a five out because the ball-screen is what the guards try to attack off of and the lane is left open when this happens.
They will also run some quick hitting sets with the motivation of getting the ball to their dynamic guard Ty Cockfield. They will do this off baseline staggers and other sets that involve staggers and single screens to get him open up top as well as back-screens and back cuts.
On the season, Arkansas State gets a lot of possessions. They average 61.5 shots per game. They have a low overall shooting percentage of 43.5 percent. Of the 61.2 shots, roughly 22 are from 3-point territory. They make 35.6 percent of those. ASU also gets to the foul line around 22 times per game and make 71.9 percent of their tries.
This is a team that is quick and plays hard. The offensive proof of that is twelve rebounds per game. Not a lot of their makes come from the pass. A lot comes off the dribble and in transition. The result is that on 90 of 214 conversions have come from an assist. The assist to turnover ratio is not a strength. At 9:11, the Red Wolves have 110 turnovers on the season.
On the other end, the Pitino influence is more noticeable in philosophy. This quick group will extend their man to man in the half court. They will pressure the ball and extend well beyond the 3-point line into the passing lanes.
The weakness in the man-to-man is the post defense. They give up lots of looks inside. Balado will counter by fronting but this results in the lob, particularly from the top in the hi-lo look. Balado will also counter with double teaming the ball when it goes down low.
Also in the character of the elder Pitino, look for a full-court press of the 2-2-1 variety. This is not something they make a living on, but they will show it in the full-court off of a dead ball. Balado will also show a 2-3 zone, but this seems to be out of necessity when the man defense Is struggling. They will show full-court man-to-man ball pressure but once the ball crosses half-court, the guards will settle back into the zone.
Another staple of Balado will be to play a lot of people. Nine players get double-digit minutes. They were ten deep while Kus Canberk was in the lineup.
Balado has looked to get the program off the may through the junior college ranks. Six of the top ten players were JUCO products. There are also five new faces getting major player time on this
Ty Cockfield – Make no mistake. Cockfield is the straw that stirs the drink for this team. The set plays are designed for him, and the lightning quick 6-foot-0 guard can shoot the three then get to the hole in the blink of an eye.
Cockfield is one of the JUCO’s on this roster who started his career with Stetson. The senior averages 21.5 points per game, and is the only Red Wolf who averages double figures. He shoots over 50 percent from the field and 46.5 percent of his 3-pointers. He also gets to the line between five and six times per game and makes 75.6 percent.
Cockfield is a pure scorer. If he was at least 6-foot-3, he would be playing at a high major level. Once he crosses half-court he is a threat. Minnesota will be looking to deny his catch or at least be in his shooting pocket when he does catch the ball.
Marquis Eaton – The 6-foot-2 sophomore was signed straight out of high school in Helena, Arkansas. He is second on the team in scoring with 9.4 points.
Eaton is an interesting mix. He shoots twice as many 2-pointers than 3-pointers, but rarely gets to the foul line. That matches the personality of this team. They are quick and can penetrate but they don’t shoot a lot of free throws. A big reason is that they shoot so quickly in the shot clock, they don’t stress the defense into fouling.
He averages 9.5 shots per game, but is only shooting a low 36.8 percent overall, including 32.1 percent from deep. Eaton also averages 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He has one more turnover on the season than assists.
Grantham Gillard – This should be a familiar name to Gopher fans. The Minneapolis native went to high school at Eden Prairie. From there he went to South Plains Community College, then spent his junior season in Jonesboro.
Gillard his third on the team in minutes and points. He averages 9.1 points and leads the team in rebounds at 6-foot-4 with six per game. Gillard is the team’s catch and shoot threat. An overwhelming 41 out of 58 field goal attempts have been 3-pointers. He makes 41.5 percent of his long balls.
Tristin Walley - Walley is another senior who went through the junior college ranks. The 6-foot-7, 215 pound forward is athletic but is not an accurate scoring threat. At 7.9 points per game, he is only shooting 34.5 percent of his shots and 30 percent of his three’s. He will step out and shot the three. 20 of his 58 field goal attempts have been from behind the arc.
J.J. Matthews - Matthews is the only true post in the starting lineup at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds. The sophomore started out at Townson, before transferring to Mobley Area Community College.
Despite recently cracking the starting lineup, Matthews has only been logging 14.1 minutes per game. He shoots 56.8 percent from the field. Matthews hasn’t attempted any 3-pointer, and all of his work will be around the bucket. He averages 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Salif Boudie – The 6-foot-8 junior from Mali, West Africa is another post player, who averages five points per game. He doesn’t get a lot of touches, but when he does he can convert. He is 10 of 15 from the field and 10-13 from the charity stripe. Boudie also averages 4.8 rebounds per game.
Malik Brevard is another player in the 6-foot-8 range. All of his buckets have been inside the arc. He averages 4.7 points per game. Christian Willis is a 6-foot-1 sophomore averaging 3.8. He shoots a balance of 2-pointers and 3-pointers but he has had problems connecting on the deep ball. Kobe Willis is a 6-foot-2 freshman who averages 3.0 points per game.
Minnesota is a -19.5 point favorite. The over/under is 155. Tip-off is at 3:00 P.M. CST. It can be seen on Big Ten Plus.
The Red Wolves have had a tough stretch of basketball as of late. Mike Balado was 11-21 last season in his first year at the helm. They were picked pre-season No. 11 in the twelve team Sun Belt league. He is currently 13-27 as the Head Coach in Jonesboro.
Minnesota will also be the first high major program ASU has played this season.
Balado is no stranger to the Pitino family. He was Richard's assistant at Florida Internatonal for two seasons then went to work with his father, Rick, at Louisville from 2013 to 2017.
The Red Wolves' playing style will be reminiscent of what Rick Pitino did for years, but the talent level is a far cry from what he had with the Cardinals.
Offensively, they will run a very fast paced offense. They will push the ball in transition, and the shot clock won't run down very far when they have it in the half-court.
They will run four out motion in which the post will come out and set a ball-screen in the middle of the floor. It also resembles a five out because the ball-screen is what the guards try to attack off of and the lane is left open when this happens.
They will also run some quick hitting sets with the motivation of getting the ball to their dynamic guard Ty Cockfield. They will do this off baseline staggers and other sets that involve staggers and single screens to get him open up top as well as back-screens and back cuts.
On the season, Arkansas State gets a lot of possessions. They average 61.5 shots per game. They have a low overall shooting percentage of 43.5 percent. Of the 61.2 shots, roughly 22 are from 3-point territory. They make 35.6 percent of those. ASU also gets to the foul line around 22 times per game and make 71.9 percent of their tries.
This is a team that is quick and plays hard. The offensive proof of that is twelve rebounds per game. Not a lot of their makes come from the pass. A lot comes off the dribble and in transition. The result is that on 90 of 214 conversions have come from an assist. The assist to turnover ratio is not a strength. At 9:11, the Red Wolves have 110 turnovers on the season.
On the other end, the Pitino influence is more noticeable in philosophy. This quick group will extend their man to man in the half court. They will pressure the ball and extend well beyond the 3-point line into the passing lanes.
The weakness in the man-to-man is the post defense. They give up lots of looks inside. Balado will counter by fronting but this results in the lob, particularly from the top in the hi-lo look. Balado will also counter with double teaming the ball when it goes down low.
Also in the character of the elder Pitino, look for a full-court press of the 2-2-1 variety. This is not something they make a living on, but they will show it in the full-court off of a dead ball. Balado will also show a 2-3 zone, but this seems to be out of necessity when the man defense Is struggling. They will show full-court man-to-man ball pressure but once the ball crosses half-court, the guards will settle back into the zone.
Another staple of Balado will be to play a lot of people. Nine players get double-digit minutes. They were ten deep while Kus Canberk was in the lineup.
Balado has looked to get the program off the may through the junior college ranks. Six of the top ten players were JUCO products. There are also five new faces getting major player time on this
Ty Cockfield – Make no mistake. Cockfield is the straw that stirs the drink for this team. The set plays are designed for him, and the lightning quick 6-foot-0 guard can shoot the three then get to the hole in the blink of an eye.
Cockfield is one of the JUCO’s on this roster who started his career with Stetson. The senior averages 21.5 points per game, and is the only Red Wolf who averages double figures. He shoots over 50 percent from the field and 46.5 percent of his 3-pointers. He also gets to the line between five and six times per game and makes 75.6 percent.
Cockfield is a pure scorer. If he was at least 6-foot-3, he would be playing at a high major level. Once he crosses half-court he is a threat. Minnesota will be looking to deny his catch or at least be in his shooting pocket when he does catch the ball.
Marquis Eaton – The 6-foot-2 sophomore was signed straight out of high school in Helena, Arkansas. He is second on the team in scoring with 9.4 points.
Eaton is an interesting mix. He shoots twice as many 2-pointers than 3-pointers, but rarely gets to the foul line. That matches the personality of this team. They are quick and can penetrate but they don’t shoot a lot of free throws. A big reason is that they shoot so quickly in the shot clock, they don’t stress the defense into fouling.
He averages 9.5 shots per game, but is only shooting a low 36.8 percent overall, including 32.1 percent from deep. Eaton also averages 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He has one more turnover on the season than assists.
Grantham Gillard – This should be a familiar name to Gopher fans. The Minneapolis native went to high school at Eden Prairie. From there he went to South Plains Community College, then spent his junior season in Jonesboro.
Gillard his third on the team in minutes and points. He averages 9.1 points and leads the team in rebounds at 6-foot-4 with six per game. Gillard is the team’s catch and shoot threat. An overwhelming 41 out of 58 field goal attempts have been 3-pointers. He makes 41.5 percent of his long balls.
Tristin Walley - Walley is another senior who went through the junior college ranks. The 6-foot-7, 215 pound forward is athletic but is not an accurate scoring threat. At 7.9 points per game, he is only shooting 34.5 percent of his shots and 30 percent of his three’s. He will step out and shot the three. 20 of his 58 field goal attempts have been from behind the arc.
J.J. Matthews - Matthews is the only true post in the starting lineup at 6-foot-9, 240 pounds. The sophomore started out at Townson, before transferring to Mobley Area Community College.
Despite recently cracking the starting lineup, Matthews has only been logging 14.1 minutes per game. He shoots 56.8 percent from the field. Matthews hasn’t attempted any 3-pointer, and all of his work will be around the bucket. He averages 7.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
Salif Boudie – The 6-foot-8 junior from Mali, West Africa is another post player, who averages five points per game. He doesn’t get a lot of touches, but when he does he can convert. He is 10 of 15 from the field and 10-13 from the charity stripe. Boudie also averages 4.8 rebounds per game.
Malik Brevard is another player in the 6-foot-8 range. All of his buckets have been inside the arc. He averages 4.7 points per game. Christian Willis is a 6-foot-1 sophomore averaging 3.8. He shoots a balance of 2-pointers and 3-pointers but he has had problems connecting on the deep ball. Kobe Willis is a 6-foot-2 freshman who averages 3.0 points per game.
Minnesota is a -19.5 point favorite. The over/under is 155. Tip-off is at 3:00 P.M. CST. It can be seen on Big Ten Plus.
