TheGopherReport - Three Takeaways from the Gophers 90-82 victory over Saint Louis
This game started out as the Marcus Carr show. The star point guard began the game an inferno, making six of his first
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Three Takeaways from the Gophers 90-82 victory over Saint Louis
This game started out as the Marcus Carr show. The star point guard began the game an inferno, making six of his first seven shots and ending the half with 14 points to go along with five assists and two of three shooting from downtown.
After that, Minnesota struggled to score for awhile and Saint Louis quickly closed the gap on the Gophers before taking the lead for themselves for a few minutes of game time. Hasahn French paced the first half scoring.
A strong bench performance from Jamal Mashburn Jr. (6 points, 1 assist, 2/2 from three), Eric Curry (7 points, 3/4 shooting, 1/1 from three) and Isaiah Ihnen (4 points, 4 rebounds) allowed the Gophers to reclaim a 42-40 lead before heading in for the half.
A hot Gophers start that included a few easy buckets from Robbins, a technical foul by SLU coach Travis Ford, and a three by Both Gach off an Eric Curry assist helped Minnesota open up their lead to 54-44 before the u16 media timeout.
A theme all game long was the Bilikens attacking the offensive glass with a whole lot of success. In the first half, Saint Louis outrebounded Minnesota 21-11 including six-to-nothing on the offensive end. They continued that effort in the second half and outrebounded Minnesota 41-34, and 18-7 on offense.
Despite the struggles on the glass, Minnesota was able to force some turnovers and score on the other end off layups and free throws. A 14-2 run for Minnesota brought the lead up to 12. With less than four minutes to go, they held a 75-60 lead.
Minnesota, paced by Marcus Carr (29 points, 7 assists, 4 steals, and 3 rebounds) held on for the rest of the way to take down the previously unbeaten Bilikens 90-82.
TGR looks at the Gophers performance and gives their three main takeaways:
This was the best game the Gophers played so far this season
Especially in the second half, this Gophers team looked like the one many believed could outperform their mediocre preseason projections. Marcus Carr was on his game offensively, the bench made serious contributions in both the backcourt and the frontcourt, and they protected the rim at an extremely high level (9 blocks).
Carr, Kalscheur, Mashburn Jr., and Gach all knocked in hit multiple three's, Ihnen knocked one down from deep, and even Eric Curry splashed one from downtown. Kalscheur still hasn't hit his stride, but maybe better than two-for-six from him this year is asking too much.
Liam Robbins got scored on inside early, but made a big impact on the defensive end and protecting the rim. In only 19 minutes played, due to matchups I would say more than foul trouble, the Drake transfer blocked four shots, including a few high-impact stops at the cup.
Getting 30 from Marcus Carr can't be expected on a nightly basis, but it's pretty fair to expect around 20 from him per night and he can explode at any time. He also chipped in seven assists and four steals on the night, and did a much better job in the second half of being an offense initiator instead of a ball-pounding guard.
Isaiah Ihnen has proven to be the Gophers best rebounder, and he proved that tonight with a 10 point 10 rebound double-double in 28 minutes of action off the bench. The German sophomore also blocked three shots.
What can go better for this Minnesota team than what we saw tonight? Better shooting from Kalscheur is the first thing that comes to mind, but can that be expected realistically right now? He's shown he's capable in the past, but we're at the "see it to believe it" stage with him now.
Yes, Gach can play better, but an 11 point, 8 rebound, 2 assist game in 35 minutes with so many other players chipping in is nothing to be upset about. He got sped up at times and turned the ball over five times -- that can't happen again -- but I thought he played a good game and knocking in two-of-four three's is a nice outing.
Absolutely the Gophers could do a better job stopping opponents win on the offensive glass, but that's my only real downside of tonight's win.
This is the effort Minnesota is going to need to bring out on a nightly basis to have a chance of winning games down this next stretch they have in their schedule. The next five games they play are against ranked opponents, their next being against #3 Iowa on Christmas day. If they want to win, their play needs to look like an even improved version of what we saw tonight.
Bench play sparked Minnesota offense when they needed it
Isaiah Ihnen was absolutely huge off the bench for Minnesota. A 10 point, 10 rebound double-double with three blocks in 28 minutes was a much needed spark for the Gophers. Ihnen has proven over time that he's Minnesota's most productive rebounder, and he has flashed that he may just be one of their better defenders as well. He hit one three tonight, but he's shown he can get hot. If he couples that with the defense and rebounding, he should be getting the minutes he got tonight on the regular.
Eric Curry was a spark yet again. It started when the Gophers were slumping offensively and he got a pass from Jamal Mashburn Jr. behind the three point line. He calmly lined up and swished it through the net, getting the Gophers back on track. He ended that game with 9 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists. He made many timely plays for the Gophers today. He's gotten better the more comfortable he's gotten throughout the year, let's see if it continues. He's been a great story so far, if he can play at a high level, even better.
Jamal Mashburn Jr. was the third guy to come off the bench and make some noise for the Gophers. He hit two first half three's and finished with 6 points, had 2 assists, and drew a charge on the defensive end. His full-court defense after makes slowed down the Biliken offense and took them out of their rhythm. Mashburn Jr. likes doing that, and that's a coaches dream. He's earning more minutes soon.
Take-Two: It's time for a new starting shooting guard
Look. I was thinking this might be the best move after the last game. After Kalscheur's performance tonight, I want to double-down on the take that it's time to move the junior shooting guard out of the starting lineup and into a bench role.
He had a fine game, but I don't expect much more than two-for-six from three for him anymore. He finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists but turned the ball over four times and turned down some open looks where he just didn't look confident to let it fly.
I would say that the number one argument against making this change at this point is that there isn't a clear replacement. I don't think that's true anymore. Jamal Mashburn Jr. should be the answer. He's a capable shooter that doesn't seem to be struggling with confidence at the moment. He can also create his own shot from the elbow and free throw line, which I value a lot, and knock those shots down consistently.
He's not the defensive player Kalscheur is right now, but he likes to defend and puts in the effort. Mashburn Jr. has gotten better and better the more he's played, and I think it's time to let him loose in the starting lineup and get around 20-25 minutes per game while giving Kalscheur a change of pace off the bench.
