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Where
Minneapolis
When
9:00 PM
How
BTN
| Pos. | Minnesota Golden Gophers | Pnt/Gm | Pnt/Gm | Indiana Hoosiers | Pos. | |
| PG | Nate Mason | 14.5 | 8.6 | Josh Newkirk | PG | |
| G | Akeem Springs | 10.2 | 16.8 | James Blackmon | G | |
| F | Amir Coffey | 12.2 | 13.7 | Robert Johnson | G | |
| F | Jordan Murphy | 10.3 | 6.7 | Juwan Morgan | F | |
| C | Reggie Lynch | 8.3 | 10.7 | Thomas Bryant | C | |
| Bench | Eric Curry | 6.0 | 6.1 | De'Ron Davis | Bench | |
| Bench | Dupree McBrayer | 10.6 | 6.7 | Devonte Green | Bench | |
| Bench | Bakary Konate | 1.9 | 1.0 | Zach McRoberts | Bench |
The Hoosiers come to town with a Big Ten losing streak of three and having lost five of their last six. Injuries and inconsistency have plagued the Hoosiers but that's no reason for the Gophers to take a breath tonight in a key game as they try to get closer to locking up an NCAA Tournament bid.
Efficiency Stats (national rank in parenthesis if significant)
| Minnesota (39) | Indiana (49) | |
| Off PPP | 1.084 | 1.157 (27) |
| Def PPP | 0.926 (18) | 1.015 |
| Off TO% | 16.5% | 21.4% (319) |
| Def TO% | 18.7% | 16.1% (317) |
| Off Reb % | 30.0% | 37.3% (11) |
| Def Reb % | 70.3% | 71.8% |
For Indiana it comes down to two things. Turnovers, where they are pretty bad on both ends of the floor, and rebounding, where they are pretty good on both ends. For the Gophers it is all about defense and getting to the free throw line.
Keys to a Gopher Win
Defensive Rebounding - Indiana is really good at offensive rebounding and it probably helps them make up for the fact that they lose a lot of possessions to turnovers. We need to box out, keep them off the boards. Really going to be a huge factor tonight. Keep them under 30% Off Reb rate and I like our chances, if it gets a whole lot higher than that, then we better be shooting well.
Avoid Foul Trouble - Thomas Bryant is a likely lottery pick and should make for a fascinating match up for our big guys tonight. But we have to stay out of foul trouble or he could dominate the paint. Lynch has been doing much better lately and continues to still block a lot of shots, but he has to stay on the floor.
Get to the Line and Make Them - This is such a key piece of our offense and it has to be a key tonight as well. Continue to drive aggressively and get to the line...then make them. The former is pretty consistent, the latter is not.
Prediction
Indiana is in a funk and their coach is on the hot seat. We are getting into a groove, tonight being at home is going to be pretty huge. I think the Gophers claw back and win this one late.