From The Barn

Game 3 Review: Another lop-sided win, at least on the scoreboard

JF — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 05:52:25 +0000

Thursday’s 76-51 win against Utah Valley came in Minnesota’s third game of the young season, and was also their last true tune-up of the young season. On Thanksgiving night, and two days thereafter, the Gophers begin what could potentially be their most difficult stretch of the season at the 76 Classic in Anaheim California. There is a distinct possibility they could play Butler and West Virginia, two top teams next weekend, and also face UCLA, who will have some degree of a home court advantage. It will be a far cry from the barely Division I teams the Gophers have beaten up on.

Going into the Utah Valley game, the Gophers were hoping to play as flawless as possible. Ideally, the last easy game before a tough stretch will function as a kind of dress rehearsal. The team hopes to use the same line-ups, run the same plays, and execute precisely. Needless to say, despite the 25 point victory Thursday’s game hardly inspired confidence.

The Gophers were without leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook due to food poisoning. His absence from the line-up was obvious, as the Gophers were completely out of sync at the offensive end of the floor for most of the first half. Devoe Joseph filled in and demonstrated plenty of effort, but his shots were not falling, along with the rest of the team. The Gophers shot only 34% in the first half, and only led the Wolverines by eight points, despite taking 14 more shots over the first 14 minutes.

It was another in a string of slow starts. It is great that the Gophers can wear a team down and get better as the game goes on. Against bad teams it almost doesn’t matter how slow the start is because no hole will really be too deep to climb out. The Gophers didn’t have a lead of more than one possession until the 2:24 mark of the second half.

The shooting did gradually improve, mostly on points off of turnovers, and especially because of Rodney William who scored 8 straight points in the middle of the second half. He was one of the few Gophers playing well and within his abilities. Unlike their previous games, these weren’t just good shots that weren’t falling. There were plenty of bad shots too. Damian Johnson has picked up a nasty habit of opening each game with an ill-advised perimeter shot. Devoe Joseph has no problem shooting from anywhere on the floor, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have a problem with his shot selection. Even lay-ups were an adventure, as the Gophers only converted on 60% of what should have been guaranteed made shots.

The defense wasn’t much better. Even if the box score disagrees. Statistics are compulsive liars. They can give you a general picture of the game, except when they don’t. As John Gasaway pointed out, I may been a bit harsh in my immediate reaction Thursday night. The Gophers did hold the Wolverines to only .76 points per possession, which admittedly is very good. The goal of defense, after all, is to keep an opponents from scoring. If the Gophers did what the did on Thursday in every game so far this season they would have the 28th best defense in the country. In reality, this wasn’t so much a stellar defensive performance as it was a game against a team that could not take care of the ball.

Utah Valley committed turnovers on 39% of their possessions. Many of the turnovers weren’t forced, unless the Gophers have a unique ability to force opponents to throw wide-open passes several feet too high. It is almost a shame that Utah Valley couldn’t hold on to the ball, because it obscured what may be their best offensive performance of the season. They regularly beat the Gophers off the dribble, which is more than a little alarming considering the disparity in athleticism between the two teams. Utah Valley also had an exceptional shooting night, making 45% of their shots, the best by any Gopher opponents by a 15% margin.

A quick perusal of the box score may lead to some rebounding concerns too. Remember, don’t believe the box score. While we don’t delve into statistical intricacies too often, tempo-free statics are a very helpful tool to gain a complete picture of the game. KJ at “The Only Colors” was kind enough to put together a guide for numbers-oriented dummies such as myself. One of the main general concepts is that percentages are more meaningful than raw numbers. This is especially true when looking at the rebounding numbers from Thursday night. Even though the Gophers were out-rebounded in terms of raw numbers, it had a lot more to do with their poor shooting than it did with their actual rebounding. The Gophers actually rebounded a greater percentage of both offensive and defensive opportunities than the Wolverines. If both teams had the same same number of missed shots, quite simply, the Gophers would have had better rebounding numbers.

Despite the obvious shortcomings on display on Thursday, it is difficult to be alarmed. The Gophers were playing without their leading scorer, which goes a long way in explaining the offensive mediocrity. Playing a game that is tougher than expected and without a complete roster at this stage in the season should be beneficial in the long run. Butler will be a tough test on Thanksgiving night and should be favored to win. This would not be the best time for the Gophers to experience for the first time this season a game that is not a wire to wire blow-out. It also gave them a great opportunity to play a full game without Westbrook in an almost consequence free environment. Injuries and foul trouble happen, and they may very well happen to Westbrook. If they do, at least the Gophers will have a better idea of how to handle such a situation.

Who did what:

Damian Johnson was one of the few Gophers who performed well on offense, and he had a positively stellar game. He sealed off his defender several times and used a nice drop step for an easy dunk. He also tied for the team lead with six rebounds. He has become a power forward by necessity, and he needs to rebound like it.

Rodney Williams continues to dazzle with both his high wire dunks and his solid fundamental play. In his first start as a Gopher he scored a career high 17 points, adding to his double digit scoring streak. He also added six rebounds, 4 steals, and two assists. A player with his athleticism and the Damian Johnson type statistics is something every coach dreams of.

Ralph Sampson scored 9 points on 3-4 shooting, but only played 19 minutes after picking up 4 bogus fouls. He looked fine when he was out there.

Devoe Joseph tried to do too much filling in for Lawrence Westbrook. He forced shots and couldn’t stay in control while going towards the basket. Tubby Smith will have the sophomore guard practicing his lay-ups as he repeatedly forgot to use the backboard. He finished with 8 points on 5-13 shooting.

Al Nolen needs to remember that he will always be one of the quickest players on the court and can get to the basket at will. The Utah Valley defenders couldn’t hang with him, and Nolen had a wide-open lane to the hoop. He didn’t always convert, but was fouled often and was able to get 11 points despite his 2-7 shooting. The junior point guard continued to distribute the ball effectively with another 7 assists without a turnover. He now has 21 assists and 2 turnovers for the season and 14 assists and no turnovers over the last two games. Nolen wasn’t alone on Thursday. The Gophers as a team recorded only 5 turnovers while 21 of the teams 27 field goals came off an assists.

Colton Iverson had another rough night, and could soon be facing a Blake Hoffarber type sophomore slump.

Blake Hoffarber scored six points on 2-6 shooting and 2-5 from behind the three point line. If Hoffarber can continue to make three pointers at a 40% pace it will keep defenses extended and give the interior players room to work.

Justin Cobbs doesn’t seem to be gaining Tubby Smith’s confidence, though he looks just fine when he is on the court. He played only 8 minutes and did not score.

Paul Carter’s shooting has reverted towards the mean. Again, and as always, he played too fast on the offensive end and made only 3-10 shots. When he took his time, he nailed a three pointer, and made 3-4 free throws. Hopefully he can calm down a bit as his career progresses so he can make a few more shots.

Lawrence Westbrook missed the game due to food poisoning. There is no indication that he will miss more games, and he should be back and ready to go on Thursday, which, ironically, is a day that causes plenty of digestion problems.

Highlights from last night

JF — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:23:39 +0000

Rodney Williams, dunks, etc.

Quick Thoughts: Gophers 76 Utah Valley 51

JF — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:11:45 +0000

To be expanded upon at a later time…

Lawrence Westbrook is to the Gophers’ offense what Damian Johnson is to the defense. Westbrook was out with food poisoning, and the Gopher offense was out of it.
Bold prediction: Rodney Williams will be the Big Ten freshman of the year.
The little kid basketball half-time scrimmage was more fundamentally sound than the first half. Devoe Joseph needs to learn to use the backboard on his lay-ups.
Great turnout by the student section for a meaningless game on a week night.
Minnesota’s defense was atrocious. There were way too many open shots and way too much penetration.
A little adversity goes a long way. The Gophers had a few nervous moments and were without their leading scorer. It will help them in the long run.
Give Utah Valley credit, they could have given up several times and stuck around.
Al Nolen of Louisville game fame made a cameo.
This won’t be the first time that Rodney Williams almost breaks himself. What goes up must come down, and what goes way up must come way down.
The rebounding numbers weren’t as bad as they looked. A lot of missed shots creates a lot of rebounding opportunities.

More later…

Liveblog: Gophers vs. Utah Valley

JF — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:48:43 +0000

Back by semi-popular demand, a chatroom for tonight’s game. Discuss Minnesota’s first real-TV game of the season, and if you are up for it, any of the actually competitive games on TV. We are still looking for a Cover It Live volunteer for home games this season. Let me know if you are interested.

My Chatroll – Fullscreen

Game 3 Preview: Gophers vs. Utah Valley Wolverines

JF — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:20:24 +0000

Golden Gophers vs. Utah Valley Wolverines

7:00 pm (CST) at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Radio: WCCO 830 AM

TV: Big Ten Network (actual live TV!)

Tickets: Best available- Row 11 upper deck, center court

Naming a college basketball conference is an exercise in redundancy. There are really only three ingredients in a conference name; a synonym of large, a number, and/or a general geographic region. A few bend the rules, such as the Metro Atlantic Conference (to which geographic region would this refer?), the Big Ten and Atlantic 10 have major counting problems with 11 and 14 teams respectively, and the Summit League has only one team from a state known for mountains (yes South Dakota State, you have the Black Hills, which, as the name suggests, are more hills than mountains). The Horizon League is a whole other story, perhaps it migrates across the globe each day. However, no conference strays off the conference naming beaten path than the Great West.

Dictionary.com lists 23 definitions for the word “great.” None of those definitions includes exempt from the NCAA basketball tournament. The Great West champion unfortunately is exempt from the Big Dance. Instead they win an automatic bid to the Collegeinsider.com tournament (won by Old Dominion last season in case you missed it). The conference just isn’t great. In fact, it would be a stretch to call it mediocre. It isn’t particularly western either. Utah Valley , whom the Gophers play Thursday night, is the only team firmly planted in the western half of the country. The University of North Dakota and the University of South Dakota both represent states that have western portions, but the actual universities cling to the Minnesota border. They are only in the west if Marshall is out west too. Houston Baptist and Texas Pan-American are pretty central too. Chicago State is west of about one-third of the country. The New Jersey Institute of Technology is a few miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. Next time they should try the Geographically Dispersed Conglomeration of Mediocrity. Not catchy but accurate!

The Utah Valley Wolverines come into Thursdays game with a 1-1 record. Their win came against North Dakota State in Fargo, and they lost at California-State Bakersfield. Last season they finished with a record of 17-11, including a win over “Academy of Art.” Please don’t complain too loudly about the Gopher Schedule. Their best win came against Montana, and their worst loss, though all of them were bad, was probably against Houston Baptist.

The Wolverines put up pretty good numbers last season, even though a big reason is the low level of competition. They were actually the 19th best three point shooting team in the country and the fifth best free throw shooting team. That success has not carried over to this season so far.

Utah Valley State plays the game slowly, at about the same pace as Northwestern, averaging 67 possessions per game. As a comparison, the Gophers are averaging 71 possessions per game. They are shooting 33% from behind the three point line, and shoot a below average number of three pointers. On offense they are pretty horrible, turning the ball over 24% of the time. They also struggle to secure offensive rebounds. On defense they are better, holding opponents to 21% shooting from behind the three point line and keeping opponents off the free-throw line. The Gophers shouldn’t, and shouldn’t have to rely on threes and frees on Thursday. Their rebounding and shot blocking are horrible, which is expected from a team with only one player 6′9” and three others 6′7”.

The heavily favored Gophers continued to beat up on weaker opponents on Monday night with their win over Stephen F. Austin, and are one of the statistically best teams in the country, ranking in the top 21 in overall defense, defensive shooting percentage, two-point defense, blocks, steals, and offensive two point field goal percentage. This should be a cake walk.

Keys for the Gophers

Get Paul Carter back on track. It isn’t a problem at all if he loses his spot in the starting line-up to Rodney Williams. It is a problem if he loses his spot and loses his high impact style of play. In the last game he attempted only two shots. He needs to show offense to go with his great rebounding.

Damian Johnson needs to rebound. Maybe five rebounds was too much to ask. Maybe three is a better goal.

Start fast. Against a better team, the Gophers would have dug themselves in a huge hole with their slow start on Monday. The Gophers should be up ten points at a minimum halfway through the first half.

Keys for the Wolverines

Don’t get dominated down low. They may need a gimmick defense, a tough zone, or stilts to slow down Ralph Sampson III.

Jordan Swarbick needs to shoot well. The senior guard made 3-5 three pointers in his teams win against NDSU, and didn’t make a single three in his teams loss to Cal State Bakersfield.

Force a few turnovers. The Gophers are more than generous with the ball, so a few should fall into their lap. Keeping the Gophers off-balance will lead to a few more, and maybe a few easy baskets.

Barnblurbs 11/18/09: Twitter, in-game coverage, and a look around the Big Ten

JF — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:44:38 +0000

By request, we are trying to add some Twitter functionality. We have already added the widget on the right hand side of the site. If you or anyone else uses the hash tag #umnhoops it will be fed through the widget and appear there. For those of you gifted with a good cell phone, skinny thumbs, and the ability to multi-task, this is a great way to keep folks informed of your thoughts, especially if you are at a game.

I’m also trying to find the best way to provide in-game coverage and want to know what you want. For road games we will continue to use Cover It Live. It is by far the best live-blogging tool that I have found, and it is also compatible with Twitter. Unfortunately, Cover It Live requires someone at the control panel. I’m lucky enough to attend every home game, so I’m not able to keep things going. This is where you, reader that wants to help out, comes in. During home games it would be great for a volunteer to step up and moderate the discussion. All this would really entail is approving new commenters to comment, and deleting anything obviously inappropriate. The software is easy, intuitive, and doesn’t require any sort of installation. All it would really require is you to devote around 5% of your basketball watching attention, but weren’t you going to be chatting anyway? If you are interested shoot us an email or express your interest in the comments below.

If we are unable to get Cover It Live going for home games, the next best options seem to be using the comments or using some sort of other chatroom. The comments are fine with me, though they don’t seem to be a favorite of anyone. Otherwise, we can use the chatroom that we often used last year. Unfortunately, that doesn’t provide the same archiving ability of Cover It Live, doesn’t allow users to pick up the conversation in media res, and tends to create comments consisting of “hello, anyone out there”. But it may be better than nothing.

I always enjoy reading comments about the Gophers and discussing the action as it happens. Help us create an enjoyable experience by letting us know what you think.

And on to basketball…

Collegehoops.net released their Big Ten preview, picking the Gophers to finish sixth in the conference. Only Ralph Sampson and Royce White made their top-25 Big Ten player list.

The Big Ten Geeks, undoubtedly blogging from the posh corporate headquarters of the Big Ten Network, pick Paul Carter as one of their breakout players. Maybe they have a curse like Sports Illustrated, because Carter played pretty poorly against Stephen F. Austin.

Speaking of curses, that is how Lake The Posts is referring to the injury plague that has swept Northwestern lately. Now Jeremy Nash has been diagnosed with a heart condition. Luckily it doesn’t seem too severe, and he isn’t expected to miss any playing time, but seriously, who is next? Purdue is also facing some injury concerns, with Lewis Jackson out for months with a foot injury.

Basketball season has really picked up, with all conference teams playing games lately. The bad teams are still bad. Iowa lost again at home, this time to Duquesne which was without their leading scorer, and Indiana struggled to beat something called South Carolina Upstate. Penn State needs another scorer, but won a tough game against Robert Morris. Taylor Battle scored only eight points. Even Michigan State had a rough go of it in a close win over a supposedly depleted Gonzaga squad. I wish the Gophers could be depleted.

Finally, in a bit of Wisconsin hate propaganda, the Badgers alleged recruiting coup isn’t working out so well. Mike Bruesewitz might be on the way to a red-shirt season. Remember kids, it is better to be a Gopher.

Game 2 Review: A slow start, and then a slaughter

JF — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 02:59:29 +0000

I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being a bit nervous throughout most of the first half of the Gophers 82-42 win over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. Over the weekend Iowa lost to Southland Conference also-ran UT-San Antonio, and for a while at least it appeared that the Lumberjacks had an upset on their mind.

The Gophers started extremely slow because they were moving way too fast. Tubby Smith explained during the post-game show that he had made it a point of emphasis for his team to try to play a fast game. The Gophers used this as motivation to rush every shot, make passes without looking, and play sloppy and undisciplined basketball. Paul Carter tried to make a lay-up/jump-shot six feet out from and a foot or so underneath the basket. Physics just won’t let that happen, unless Carter has found a way to put some english on an airborne basketball. Devoe Joseph was about half a second from severely injuring himself and the two or three people in wheelchairs about 10 feet to the left of the basket if he wasn’t saved by a Lumberjack defender who stepped in just in to pick up the charge and prevent Joseph from tumbling off the court.

In my preview of the UMD game I mentioned that any issues with the team due to off-court issues would be obvious, and they wouldn’t be the typical pre-season sloppiness. After seemingly shrugging away the drama that has surrounded the team over the last week, distractions may finally be catching up to them. For most of the first half they just seemed out of it, and who can blame them? With rumors swirling and court dates pending, basketball may not seem so important right now.

Then Rodney Williams stepped in. He provided not just instant offense with three dunks, but instant energy. His formerly blase teammates suddenly remembered that above all else, basketball is supposed to be fun. The crowd came to life. The defense became suffocating. The offense came together. The lead grew from 1 point with 3:30 left in the first half to 48-21 with 14:27 left. This team has spurtability.

Once again the Gophers showed that they are not a team to be judged by the first few minutes or even the first half. They shot 3-8 to start the game to go along with seven turnovers in the first seven minutes of action. They finished the first half shooting 45% with ten turnovers, showing that their play did improve.

The second half was reminiscent of the absolute demolition of Cornell last year. The defense locked down, leading to plenty of easy baskets to the tune of 21 points off turnovers, 11 on the fast break. The Gophers outscored the Lumberjacks 56-23 in the second half on 61% shooting and 9 forced turnovers.

Minnesota’s defensive numbers were impressive as always, holding Stephen F. Austin to 30% shooting and 21.4% from behind the three point line. The Achilles’ Heal of the ball-line defense may have finally been healed. For the season the Gophers are holding opponents to 27.6% shooting from behind the three point line, not great, but good enough that is no longer a major issue. Overall, their defense ranks seventh in the country through their first two games.

It is better to start slow than finish slow, but against better teams it will take a consistent game to win. The Gophers have a little over a week until the real season starts in a big way against Butler. Consistency needs to happen, and soon.

Who did what:

Rodney Williams did this
Rodney Williams vs. SFA from Adam Kaner on Vimeo.

and
might have earned himself in the starting line-up. He replaced Paul Carter to start the second half, and scored 14 points on 5-6 shooting with two more three pointers. Big Ten freshman of the year? Quite possibly.

Lawrence Westbrook continues his red-hot shooting. He made 3 more three point shots on the way to 15 points. The senior captain is now shooting 65% from the floor and 58% from three. Do people still think he shoots too much?

Devoe Joseph led the way during the dreadful opening half, and then played extremely well after a first half benching. He also scored 15 points and 5-7 shooting as well as connecting on all three of his three point attempts. More importantly, he displayed great maturity by calming down after a rough start.

Paul Carter never found himself on offense attempting only two shots. As usual, he pulled down 6 rebounds in only 20 minutes. If he does lose his starting spot to Rodney Williams, the Gophers will need to find rebounding somewhere.

Damian Johnson’s lack of rebounding is now a real concern as he pulled in only one all night. Johnson usually attempts to block shots and because of that isn’t in position to rebound. That is fine if he gets the block, but even when he is at his best he’s not going to block more than three or four shots in a game. Against better teams those missed blocks will lead to second chance points. I’m really just being picky, and can’t complain too loudly about an 11 point, 5 assist, 3 block, 5 steal night.

Al Nolen has resigned himself to finding his offense through others. He only attempted two shots, and didn’t score, but his 7 assists made up for it.

Justin Cobbs made his first three-pointer as a Gopher, and made 4-4 free-throws. Minnesota’s free-throw worries are put off for another game. They made 13-14 at the line, and getting the right people to the line is the big reason. Cobbs’ quick first step and aggressive drives to the basket should earn him plenty of chances for some easy points.

Ralph Sampson III showed scary move #3 of the young season, a sweeping left-handed sky hook that no one will be able to stop. His new moves and new rebounding ability, 11 on Monday night, should start to gain him some national attention, and not just because of his name.

Blake Hoffarber continued his good enough shooting with 2-5 three point shooting and four rebounds.

Colton Iverson had four turnovers, and this is beginning to be problematic. Tubby Smith loves to put his big-men at the top of the key to find cutters, but this doesn’t seem to be the best role for the Sophomore from South Dakota. Put him under the basket and let him go to work.

In-game chat: Gophers vs. Stephen F. Austin

JF — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:25:14 +0000

The game is being streamed at www.bigtennnetwork.com, so I’m not exactly expecting much success with this, but if you are watching the game, you are at your computer, so why not type while you watch?

The comments are open for your observations and whatever else you want to discuss.

Barn Blurbs 11/16/09

JF — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 19:27:14 +0000

The Gophers play Stephen F. Austin tonight. If my preview was insufficient, here are a couple more to check out.

As usual, it will be up to the Gopher basketball team to keep us all sane.

Why we do out best to avoid publishing unsubstantiated rumors.

There are injury bugs, and then the injury plague. Both Kevin Coble and Jeff Ryan are done for year at Northwestern. Luckily, they should each be eligible to play next year. Is Kevin Coble the new Jeff Settles?

Speaking of being done, Iowa lost to UT-San Antonio by 12 at home. Ouch.

In case you missed it, Evan Turner and Manny Harris each recorded triple doubles. The football rivalry may be dying (wow is Michigan bad) but basketball is doing its best to pick up the slack.

Butler had its hands full against Davidson. Hopefully the Bulldogs are still rusty on Thanksgiving.

Game 2 Preview: Gophers vs. Stephen F. Austin

JF — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:55:01 +0000

Golden Gophers vs. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks

7:00 pm (CST) at Williams Arena (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

Radio: WCCO 830 AM

TV: BigTenNetwork.com

Tickets: Best available- Row 10 upper deck, baseline

Minnesota may face its toughest home non-conference test of the season on Monday night against the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks. That it is coming against last year’s Southland Conference champion, who just so happens to have lost four of their top five scorers tells you just about everything you need to know about what should be a rather uneventful two months at The Barn.

It wasn’t always this way. There have always been more than a few absolutely dreadful opponents in the early season. These are necessary for the Gophers to work out the kinks they acquired during the off-season and for the players to get to know each other, but there used to be good games too. Seeing the Gophers barely lose to #2 Cincinnati in 1998 is still one of my favorite Gopher basketball memories. Who would have thought Kyle Sanden of all people would nail a three with three seconds left? Now most of those great memories are relegated to the Big Ten season.

Bringing up Minnesota’s weak non-conference home schedule is a bit of a moot point this season. The Gophers should get plenty of opportunities to raise their national profile at the 76 Classic in Anaheim over Thanksgiving Weekend. Clemson, Butler, and West Virgina are all ranked in most pre-season polls. If the Gophers weren’t playing some frankly bad teams, they would be in the same position as the 2001-2002 Michigan State Spartans, who played six ranked opponents in the non-conference season and never seemed to get on track. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t like to see a competitive game before conference play.

Like a lot of upcoming teams, the Gophers face the problem of uncertain expectations which adversely affects non-conference scheduling. Elite teams have no problem playing other elite teams on the road because if they win it will raise or at worst maintain their profile. If they lose, they have lost to a great team, and what harm is there in that. If they play a team like the Gophers, who are expected to be good but not great, they run the risk of losing to a team not up to their caliber. If they win, they should have won. Right now it isn’t worth the risk for great teams to play a team like the Gophers during the non-conference season. The good news is that as the Gophers continue to improve, so should their schedule. Look for a big step up in the caliber of teams coming into Williams Arena in the coming years.

The Lumberjacks come into Monday night’s game as something of a question mark. There is little continuity between last season and this season with so many important players from last year’s squad no longer with the team. There is also little consistency between last season’s team and previous seasons. As you’d expect, their success has ebbed and flowed with their talent level.

If the Lumberjack’s lone exhibition game is any indication of what to expect on Monday, the Gophers should roll again. Stephen F. Austin was out-shot and out-rebounded by something called Northwestern Oklahoma State and only won because they forced 24 turnovers. The Gophers are still a little too turnover prone, but they will take better care of the ball than a NAIA team. Stephen F. Austin didn’t find many replacements for their departed scorers either, as only two players managed to score in double figures and they shot only 29% from the three-point line.

If this game was a year ago, it would have been a test. This won’t even amount to an open book quiz.

Keys for the Gophers

Make a few free-throws. Shooting 50% from the line isn’t a big deal in the first game of the season. Starting the season with poor free throw shooting in two straight games will cause some concern. I’d like to see Lawrence Westbrook get to the line at least a few times. Relying on Colton Iverson and Damian Johnson to take half the team’s free throws isn’t a great way to score free points.

Damian Johnson’s rebounding needs to improve. He does more than any other player on the floor on the defensive end, but if teams get the ball right back after missing a shot, it doesn’t matter how good the defense was. It shouldn’t be too hard for the senior captain to pull down at least five rebounds tomorrow night.

Rodney Williams needs to prove it was not just a fluke. His 14 point and three massive dunk performance is the best debut by a Gopher freshman since Kris Humphries refused to pass, ever. I’m not looking for points necessarily, just confirmation that he is indeed a much more polished player than last year.

Keys for the Lumberjacks

Somehow shut down the inside. The Lumberjacks would have won their exhibition easily if they didn’t allow Brandon Dixon, a 6′7” forward to score 14 points on 7-9 shooting. It will be a tall task to deal with Minnesota’s interior height.

Make three-pointers. The Gophers haven’t consistently shown they can defend perimeter shooters. It was better Friday night, but there were still openings. Stephen F. Austin needs to make the most of their open outside shots (and yes, making three-pointers against the Gophers will be a key every game).

Limit Minnesota’s second chance points. Northwestern Oklahoma had ten offensive rebounds. That should equate to about 25 for the Gophers if they don’t rebound aggressively.