Minnesota was on fire in a win over Central Michigan on Tuesday night. They take the floor again on Sunday afternoon, and Richard Pitino certainly hopes the short turnaround means more sizzling offensive play.
The Gophers made 14 three-pointers in an 82-57 win over the Chippewas. Now they return to the friendly confines of Williams Arena less than seventy-two hours later to take on the University of North Dakota.
Minnesota (2-3) looks to get back to .500 while the Fighting Hawks (1-3) look to break a three game losing streak. UND opened up with an 86-61 win over Crown College, but since then they have lost 97-66 to Gonzaga, 74-60 to Valpo, and 79-70 to Milwaukee.
The Gophers on the other hand own wins over Cleveland State and Central Michigan and losses to Oklahoma, Butler, and Utah.
Paul Sather is in his first season at the helm in Grand Forks. Sather led Northern State to the Division II National Championship Game in 2017. The Fighting Hawks were picked toward the bottom of the The Summit League by most preseason projections.
Minnesota is currently rated at No. 79 by KenPom. North Dakota by contrast is No. 280. By comparison, the other two teams in which the Gophers were heavy favorites against are Central Michigan at No. 168 and Cleveland State at No. 324 who they own decisive wins over. Pomeroy gives Minnesota a 94% chance to win and predicts them to come out top by a score of 76-59.
Statistical Comparisons
North Dakota averages 70.5 points through four games. They shoot 43.2 percent from the field and are 30.3 percent from deep. 89 of their 243 field goal attempts have been 3-pointers. They average 38.8 rebounds per game compared to 38.0 for their opponents. Ball security has been a major weakness. They are turning the ball over 16.3 times compared to just 12.0 assists.
Defensively, opponents are scoring 77.8 points against them, and are shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from deep. That certainly gives hope to Gopher fans that they can look for another strong scoring output on Sunday.
Minnesota is averaging 70.8 points, and shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from behind the arc. They are also holding opponents to 63 points per game and less than forty percent shooting.
The roster
Filip Rebraca - The 6-foot-9, 220 pound forward from Serbia is already one of the more experienced players on the team. He started sixteen games as a freshman. He is the team's leading scorer at 17.8 points, and already has individual performances of 20 and 24. He is predominately a two point shooter and has a very impressive conversion rate of 73.2 percent. He also has gotten to the foul line sixteen times in four games and has made eleven. Rebraca is very close to averaging a double-double with 9.8 rebounds per outing.
Marlon Stewart - Stewart is the second leading scorer at 16.0 points per game. The senior guard from Illinois played his freshman season at Creighton and has started 49 games in his three seasons at North Dakota.
Stewart is predominately a 2-point shooter, but his 3-point average (40.0) is higher than his percentage inside the arc (39.6). He also draws fouls. He gets to the foul line seven times per game and converts 71.4 percent of the time. Stewart also averages 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens - A 6-foot-6 freshman, Allen-Eikens is a fan favorite because he is recruit who stayed home. He averages 14.0 points, but his shooting averages aren't high. He has taken more shots so far than any other Fighting Hawk. He is also the team's second leading rebounder at 7.0 per game.
Kienan Walter - The 6-foot-9 sophomore is the team's best post player, but he is more of the stretch variety. Sixteen of his twenty-six shot attempts have been 3-pointers, and he has made 43.8 percent of those. He averages 7.8 points per game.
Aanen Moody - Another local freshman, the 6-foot-3 Moody is mostly a 3-point specialist. Eighteen of his twenty-three shot attempts have been 3-pointers, and he has He shoots those at a 33.3 percent clip and averages 5.8 points.
Brady Danielson - Yet another freshman, the 6-foot-4 guard averages 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Billy Brown - Brown is a 6-foot-3 guard who comes off the bench and averages 2.0 points.
Marko Coudreau - Coudreau gets the second most playing time of any post at 9.7 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 sophomore averages 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Tip-off is a 6:00 P.M. CST and will be televised on the Big Ten Network
The Gophers made 14 three-pointers in an 82-57 win over the Chippewas. Now they return to the friendly confines of Williams Arena less than seventy-two hours later to take on the University of North Dakota.
Minnesota (2-3) looks to get back to .500 while the Fighting Hawks (1-3) look to break a three game losing streak. UND opened up with an 86-61 win over Crown College, but since then they have lost 97-66 to Gonzaga, 74-60 to Valpo, and 79-70 to Milwaukee.
The Gophers on the other hand own wins over Cleveland State and Central Michigan and losses to Oklahoma, Butler, and Utah.
Paul Sather is in his first season at the helm in Grand Forks. Sather led Northern State to the Division II National Championship Game in 2017. The Fighting Hawks were picked toward the bottom of the The Summit League by most preseason projections.
Minnesota is currently rated at No. 79 by KenPom. North Dakota by contrast is No. 280. By comparison, the other two teams in which the Gophers were heavy favorites against are Central Michigan at No. 168 and Cleveland State at No. 324 who they own decisive wins over. Pomeroy gives Minnesota a 94% chance to win and predicts them to come out top by a score of 76-59.
Statistical Comparisons
North Dakota averages 70.5 points through four games. They shoot 43.2 percent from the field and are 30.3 percent from deep. 89 of their 243 field goal attempts have been 3-pointers. They average 38.8 rebounds per game compared to 38.0 for their opponents. Ball security has been a major weakness. They are turning the ball over 16.3 times compared to just 12.0 assists.
Defensively, opponents are scoring 77.8 points against them, and are shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from deep. That certainly gives hope to Gopher fans that they can look for another strong scoring output on Sunday.
Minnesota is averaging 70.8 points, and shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from behind the arc. They are also holding opponents to 63 points per game and less than forty percent shooting.
The roster
Filip Rebraca - The 6-foot-9, 220 pound forward from Serbia is already one of the more experienced players on the team. He started sixteen games as a freshman. He is the team's leading scorer at 17.8 points, and already has individual performances of 20 and 24. He is predominately a two point shooter and has a very impressive conversion rate of 73.2 percent. He also has gotten to the foul line sixteen times in four games and has made eleven. Rebraca is very close to averaging a double-double with 9.8 rebounds per outing.
Marlon Stewart - Stewart is the second leading scorer at 16.0 points per game. The senior guard from Illinois played his freshman season at Creighton and has started 49 games in his three seasons at North Dakota.
Stewart is predominately a 2-point shooter, but his 3-point average (40.0) is higher than his percentage inside the arc (39.6). He also draws fouls. He gets to the foul line seven times per game and converts 71.4 percent of the time. Stewart also averages 4.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists.
De'Sean Allen-Eikens - A 6-foot-6 freshman, Allen-Eikens is a fan favorite because he is recruit who stayed home. He averages 14.0 points, but his shooting averages aren't high. He has taken more shots so far than any other Fighting Hawk. He is also the team's second leading rebounder at 7.0 per game.
Kienan Walter - The 6-foot-9 sophomore is the team's best post player, but he is more of the stretch variety. Sixteen of his twenty-six shot attempts have been 3-pointers, and he has made 43.8 percent of those. He averages 7.8 points per game.
Aanen Moody - Another local freshman, the 6-foot-3 Moody is mostly a 3-point specialist. Eighteen of his twenty-three shot attempts have been 3-pointers, and he has He shoots those at a 33.3 percent clip and averages 5.8 points.
Brady Danielson - Yet another freshman, the 6-foot-4 guard averages 3.0 points and 2.8 rebounds.
Billy Brown - Brown is a 6-foot-3 guard who comes off the bench and averages 2.0 points.
Marko Coudreau - Coudreau gets the second most playing time of any post at 9.7 minutes per game. The 6-foot-9 sophomore averages 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Tip-off is a 6:00 P.M. CST and will be televised on the Big Ten Network
