The Old Spice Classic first round matchup of the Golden Gophers and DePaul Blue Demons.
Game Time: 1:30
TV: ESPN2
| Pos | Minnesota (3-0) | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | DePaul (2-0) | Pos | |
| PG | Andre Hollins | 9.0 | 17.5 | Jeremiah Kelly | G | |
| G | Austin Hollins | 10.0 | 15.5 | Brandon Young | G | |
| F | Rodney Williams | 7.3 | 10.0 | Moses Morgan | F | |
| F | Trevor Mbakwe | 16.0 | 16.5 | Cleveland Melvin | F | |
| C | Ralph Sampson III | 8.7 | 6.5 | Krys Faber | C | |
| Bench | Julian Welch | 3.0 | 2.0 | Derrell Robertson Jr | Bench | |
| Bench | Oto Osenicks | 5.8 | 10.0 | Charles McKinney | Bench | |
| Bench | Maverick Ahanmisi | 3.5 | 2.5 | Worrel Clahar | Bench |
DePaul has only played two games and both have been against pretty weak competition. Their last game was 10 days ago against Mississippi Valley State. The Blue Demons beat the Delta Devils by 10.
What stands out to me is the size of DePaul. Faber is 6-10 and 260 pounds. The freshman Robertson Jr is also 6-10 and is getting significant minutes off the bench. Cleveland Melvin is 6-8, leading the team in rebounding and is second in scoring. Faber and Melvin matching up with Sampson and Mbakwe should be very interesting. I would expect Mbakwe to thrive on a tough assignment but I'm not so sure how Sampson will respond to the bigger Faber in the middle.
The perimeter is what really scares me. DePaul shoots the three and they shoot it pretty well. Our biggest defensive deficiency is defending the three. I think we are the better team, but if we leave them open they will knock down threes leaving us in catch-up mode. Jeremiah Kelly is 9/18 in two games. Hopefully our perimeter defense will be somewhat more challenging for DePaul than it was against Miss Valley State or Texas Pan America.
Fortunately they do not rebound very well and they tend to turn the ball over. Both are areas that the Gophers could really hurt DePaul. I like our chances to get a win over a BCS opponent this afternoon.
I hope you enjoyed your turkey today and hopefully we'll be able to be thankful for a Gopher win this afternoon.