- Classic beatdown of an inferior opponent. Minnesota was far more athletic, CSU didn't have anyone to defend a Big Ten center, etc. Cleveland State lost nine scholarship players from last season and may be the worst team Minnesota plays this year.
- Over half of Minnesota's field goal attempts were threes and most of them were good looks.
- The Gophers passed the ball much better today than I would have expected for a first game, especially for a young team. Minnesota, like every team does not look like a team in mid-season form but I think theit passing + effort is a good combo to have this early in the season, especially with the next three opponents all being high-major (Oklahoma, @ Butler, @ Utah).
- The Gophers dominated on the boards, 45-20. Jarvis Omersa in particular impressed with his offensive rebounding.
- Marcus Carr was the MVP. He's a very confident player offensively and created for teammates. Defensively, he was Minnesota's best perimeter defender. All in all, the Gopher backcourt had a very strong game defensively. The CSU guards were able to create very little and just about every shot was contested.
- Payton Willis also played really well, better than he did against SMSU. Willis is also a very confident shooter, but msot of his shots today were good looks. He also made the right passes, often quick passes on the perimeter, and finished with eight assists and zero turnovers.
- Oturu was as dominant as you would expect from a good Big Ten center against a low-major opponent with no one to defend him. Maybe the best takeaway from today was Oturu's mid-range game. He hit five or six turnaround mid-range jumpers. I don't think he missed a single jumper.
- Alihan Demir had a nice second half. Today he didn't receive a lot of touches, similar to the SMSU game.
- Jarvis Omersa had a highlight dunk off an Alihan Demir miss and also had a couple great offensive rebounds. Omersa still lacks skill on the block, but I think he's capable of being slightly higher usage than he was last year. Still very raw but will contribute on both ends.
