It is appropriate that Minnesota's contest with Mount St. Mary's this Sunday will be the final game of the 2018 calendar year. Not only is this a transition game that will end one year and begin another, it will also transition the Gophers from its non-conference schedule to Big Ten play.
The Mount (3-9) will be Minnesota's (10-2) last game before they move on to league play against arch-rival Wisconsin next Thursday.
The Mountaineers come to Williams Arena having won three games in a row. They began the season on a nine game losing streak, but have won its last three contests against Wilson (74-59), American (56-55), and St. Mary's of Maryland (83-44).
They have played an aggressive schedule thus far. They have losses to North Carolina State, Marshall, Maryland, and St. John's. There are also some common opponents that they share with the Gophers. They lost to North Carolina A&T by a score of 74-60, and also lost 92-77 to Minnesota's fellow Big Ten member, Maryland, that they will play later in the year.
This is one of the youngest teams in the country. There are no upperclassmen on the roster, no savvy vets to fall back on in pressure situations The entire roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. The starting lineup in Mount St. Mary's last game was comprised of three freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and a sophomore. There are a total of nine freshmen on the roster.
The Mount is not a juggernaut offensively. They rank in the lowest sixth in the country in almost every statistical category.
They average just 68.6 points on the season. which ranks 295th in the country. They convert 40.5 percent of their shots which is good only for 316th out of 351 teams. 24 of their 59 field goal attempts per game are 3-pointer, and that part of their game is woeful as well. A 28.5 percent conversion rate puts them 325th. They get to the line right at 20 times per game and make 67.5 percent.
The Mountaineers average 11.7 offensive rebounds per game and dish out just 11.2 assists compared to 15 turnovers.
They will run a lot of five out in hopes of spreading the floor to let Jalen Gibbs work. At times, they will play a post who will come out to set an early ball-screen for Gibbs. That is used to allow him to try to get to the rim. There isn't a lot of screening action out of these looks. They just try to spread the floor. A three guard, two post alignment is also used depending on the lineup.
Defensively, Mount St. Mary's isn''t much better than they are on the other end. They give up 77.4 points per game or 293rd place. That is not a good place to be, but it gets worse. In their nine losses the average goes up to 85.7 points per game.
Opponents are shooting 46.7 percent overall and 36.4 percent from behind the arc. They also average 36.3 rebounds per game.
The Mount will go to several defensive looks mostly out of necessity. They simply are looking for one that works. Look for a combination on man-to-man, 2-3 zone, and a 1-1-3 which is basically the same as a 2-3 except the top two guards are in a tandem. The back guard will take the first pass to the wing, while the top guard slides back to the foul line.
Jalen Gibbs leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. The 6-foot-3 sophomore shoots 45.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point territory. He is a 66 percent foul shooter. Gibbs is second on the team in rebounding at 6.2 per game.
Vado Moore comes off the bench, but he is the second leading scorer on the team, and the only other player besides Gibbs who averages in double figures. The 6-foot-0 freshman averages 10.9 points per game. He shoots 36.9 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from deep. Moore is an 82.9 percent foul shooter.
Omar Habwe also did not start the last game, but is third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points. The 6-foot-6 sophomore can play inside and out. Just over four of his seven field goal attempts are 3-pointers where he is shooting only 26 percent. He is just 32.1 percent from the field overall. Habwe is 79.6 percent from the foul line and also averages 4.7 rebounds.
Malik Jefferson is a 6-foot-9 freshman, and is the team's leading post scorer at 7.6 points. He is the team's leading rebounder at 7.5. Jefferson shoots 52.6 percent from the field, and all of them have been inside the arc. He has not attempted a 3-pointer at all on the year. When he is fouled he only makes 45 percent of his shots from the foul line.
Dee Barnes is the team's leading 3-point shooter. Over half of the field goal attempts by the 6-foot-4 freshman have been from deep where he is making 38.9 percent of his tries. On the season he makes 45 percent of his shots and averages 7.4 points per game. Surprisingly, although he is the best outside shooter on the team, he only makes 30.8 percent of his foul shots.
Nana Opoku is another starting inside player. The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman averages 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He shoots 43 percent from the field and will step out for a 3-pointer, but only makes 22 percent of those.
At 5-foot-8, Damian Chang Qui may be the smallest player Minnesota will see this season. The 5-foot-8 freshman averages 4.7 points per game and leads the team in assists at 2.6. He is not a strong perimeter shooter though, only making 20.8 percent of his long balls.
Collin Nnamane rounds out the players who have received notable time. The 6-foot-8 freshman averages 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. He is strictly a back to basket player in the low post.
Minnesota is listed as a 24.5 point favorite.
The Mount (3-9) will be Minnesota's (10-2) last game before they move on to league play against arch-rival Wisconsin next Thursday.
The Mountaineers come to Williams Arena having won three games in a row. They began the season on a nine game losing streak, but have won its last three contests against Wilson (74-59), American (56-55), and St. Mary's of Maryland (83-44).
They have played an aggressive schedule thus far. They have losses to North Carolina State, Marshall, Maryland, and St. John's. There are also some common opponents that they share with the Gophers. They lost to North Carolina A&T by a score of 74-60, and also lost 92-77 to Minnesota's fellow Big Ten member, Maryland, that they will play later in the year.
This is one of the youngest teams in the country. There are no upperclassmen on the roster, no savvy vets to fall back on in pressure situations The entire roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. The starting lineup in Mount St. Mary's last game was comprised of three freshmen, a redshirt freshman, and a sophomore. There are a total of nine freshmen on the roster.
The Mount is not a juggernaut offensively. They rank in the lowest sixth in the country in almost every statistical category.
They average just 68.6 points on the season. which ranks 295th in the country. They convert 40.5 percent of their shots which is good only for 316th out of 351 teams. 24 of their 59 field goal attempts per game are 3-pointer, and that part of their game is woeful as well. A 28.5 percent conversion rate puts them 325th. They get to the line right at 20 times per game and make 67.5 percent.
The Mountaineers average 11.7 offensive rebounds per game and dish out just 11.2 assists compared to 15 turnovers.
They will run a lot of five out in hopes of spreading the floor to let Jalen Gibbs work. At times, they will play a post who will come out to set an early ball-screen for Gibbs. That is used to allow him to try to get to the rim. There isn't a lot of screening action out of these looks. They just try to spread the floor. A three guard, two post alignment is also used depending on the lineup.
Defensively, Mount St. Mary's isn''t much better than they are on the other end. They give up 77.4 points per game or 293rd place. That is not a good place to be, but it gets worse. In their nine losses the average goes up to 85.7 points per game.
Opponents are shooting 46.7 percent overall and 36.4 percent from behind the arc. They also average 36.3 rebounds per game.
The Mount will go to several defensive looks mostly out of necessity. They simply are looking for one that works. Look for a combination on man-to-man, 2-3 zone, and a 1-1-3 which is basically the same as a 2-3 except the top two guards are in a tandem. The back guard will take the first pass to the wing, while the top guard slides back to the foul line.
Jalen Gibbs leads the team in scoring at 16.1 points per game. The 6-foot-3 sophomore shoots 45.5 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from 3-point territory. He is a 66 percent foul shooter. Gibbs is second on the team in rebounding at 6.2 per game.
Vado Moore comes off the bench, but he is the second leading scorer on the team, and the only other player besides Gibbs who averages in double figures. The 6-foot-0 freshman averages 10.9 points per game. He shoots 36.9 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from deep. Moore is an 82.9 percent foul shooter.
Omar Habwe also did not start the last game, but is third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points. The 6-foot-6 sophomore can play inside and out. Just over four of his seven field goal attempts are 3-pointers where he is shooting only 26 percent. He is just 32.1 percent from the field overall. Habwe is 79.6 percent from the foul line and also averages 4.7 rebounds.
Malik Jefferson is a 6-foot-9 freshman, and is the team's leading post scorer at 7.6 points. He is the team's leading rebounder at 7.5. Jefferson shoots 52.6 percent from the field, and all of them have been inside the arc. He has not attempted a 3-pointer at all on the year. When he is fouled he only makes 45 percent of his shots from the foul line.
Dee Barnes is the team's leading 3-point shooter. Over half of the field goal attempts by the 6-foot-4 freshman have been from deep where he is making 38.9 percent of his tries. On the season he makes 45 percent of his shots and averages 7.4 points per game. Surprisingly, although he is the best outside shooter on the team, he only makes 30.8 percent of his foul shots.
Nana Opoku is another starting inside player. The 6-foot-8 redshirt freshman averages 6.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He shoots 43 percent from the field and will step out for a 3-pointer, but only makes 22 percent of those.
At 5-foot-8, Damian Chang Qui may be the smallest player Minnesota will see this season. The 5-foot-8 freshman averages 4.7 points per game and leads the team in assists at 2.6. He is not a strong perimeter shooter though, only making 20.8 percent of his long balls.
Collin Nnamane rounds out the players who have received notable time. The 6-foot-8 freshman averages 2.8 points and 3.1 rebounds. He is strictly a back to basket player in the low post.
Minnesota is listed as a 24.5 point favorite.
