And we have a true road game for the Golden Gophers. Maybe getting away from the cozy confines of home will help them to focus and come out playing well from the tip.
Game Time: 6:00
TV: NOT ON TV
Radio: WCCO (possibly you can listen live to the St. Joes radio broadcast HERE)
| Pos | Minnesota | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Saint Joseph's | Pos | |
| PG | Maverick Ahanmisi | 1.3 | 17.5 | Carl Jones | G | |
| G | Blake Hoffarber | 15.3 | 10.9 | Langston Galloway | G | |
| F | Rodney Williams | 6.0 | 4.9 | Daryus Quarles | F | |
| F | Trevor Mbakwe | 14.0 | 9.9 | Idris Hilliard | F | |
| C | Ralph Sampson III | 11.6 | 7.3 | C.J. Aiken | F | |
| Bench | Colton Iverson | 7.4 | 4.0 | Ronald Roberts | Bench | |
| Bench | Austin Hollins | 4.6 | 1.4 | Patrick Swilling | Bench | |
| Bench | Devoe Joseph | 10.5 | 3.1 | Justin Crosgile | Bench |
Another game that makes me very nervous because their best scorer is a point guard and our best defender will not be playing. I'd feel MUCH better if Absolute Zero were defending Jones instead of a combination of Ahanmisi, Joseph and Hoffarber. With that said we should have yet another sizable size advantage in the paint. If we see aggressive Ralph to go along with the always aggressive Mbakwe then we should dominate the middle, especially on the glass.
| KenPom Efficiency Stats | Minnesota (42) | Saint Joes (175) |
| Pnt / Poss | 1.112 (30) | 0.985 |
| Def Pnt / Poss | 0.932 | 0.989 |
| Off eFG% | 52.6% | 45.6% |
| Def eFG% | 47.2% | 49.2% |
| Off Reb % | 39.2% (36) | 27.3% |
| Def Reb % | 67.3% | 65.9% |
| TO % | 20.5% | 20.8% |
Statistically this is a win for the Gophers. KenPom's prediction algorithm says we are 81% likely to win this game. We do have one common opponent already this year as the Hawks we dominated by Western Kentucky 98-70 earlier in the season.
This game being on the road might not be ideal but in the long run I think this is probably a very good thing. This is the only road game on the non-conference schedule and St. Joe's is looking forward to having a Big Ten team on their court. I like the opportunity for these guys to get on the road, get into a hostile environment and execute away from the Barn.
All signs point to a win unless Carl Jones has an unbelievable night without a Gopher perimeter player able to slow him down. We really should be able to dominate the paint, control the boards and execute our offense. Defensively we need to be focused on Jones and close out strong on their shooters.