Big Ten / ACC Challenge: Undefeated Gophers hit the road to face Boston College - OPEN THREAD

Where

Boston

When

8:00 PM

How

ESPN2

Who

Boston College

Gopher hoops gets their first true road test tonight against an experienced and talented Boston College team. The Eagles return 4 starters from a year ago and one of them is an elite point guard.

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Contain Ky Bowman - The junior point guard is having an outstanding season and is one of the best points in the ACC. So far Bowman is averaging nearly 22 points per game to go along with 6.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists while shooting 37% from three. He is pretty key to stopping BC. In their one loss this season, Bowman had 4 turnovers and just 14 points. Also worth noting that Bowman plays all 40 minutes some games, making him work his butt off and wearing him out would be helpful.

Win at Free Throws - Keep BC off the line as they currently rank 14th in Free Throw rate. No fouls keeps our guys on the floor and keeps them off the line. On the flip side, we are pretty good at getting to the line as well, keep that up. In fact, when Pitino teams are having success, this is a key stat for us.

No Turnovers - Probably the biggest issue for the Gopher offense through 5 games has been turnovers. Now that we will be playing in a hostile environment, turnovers may be a more significant factor. Take care of the ball please. Fortunately, BC doesn’t do a great job of forcing turnovers.

PREDICTION

Once again, until proven otherwise or until they play a top-10 team, I see no reason to pick against the Gophers. Gabe Kalscheur has been a huge boost to this team and it is obvious how much better the offense runs when he is on the floor. While the Eagles are a solid team, they haven’t played anybody good yet this year and the lost to IUPUI at home already. This needs to be a Gopher win.

Minnesota - 76
Boston College - 71