Can Gopher Basketball get back on track with Rutgers at home? - OPEN THREAD

Where

The Barn

When

11:30 AM

How

BTN

Who

Rutgers

Minnesota followed up a nice Big Ten road win with a home loss to a talented team. Up next is Rutgers, who is coming off a home upset of Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights are not very good, but their Ohio State win certainly shows that you have to do more than just show up to beat them.

Can they win? Let’s look. But first...

Pitino Tweet of the Week

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Box Out - Rutgers does two things well, one of them is crashing the offensive glass. Part of that offensive glass dominance was due to Eugene Omoruyi, but he dislocated his kneecap early in the Ohio State game. But the point still stands, dominate the paint and do NOT give Rutgers extra possessions from offensive rebounds.

Get to the free throw line...AND MAKE THEM - Getting there is good, making your free throws is better. For comparison’s sake, Rutgers is even worse than we are at making free throws, but that doesn’t put points on the board.

Find offensive rhythm - Rutgers is pretty solid on defense, though not outstanding. The Gopher offense has been horribly inconsistent this year and this morning’s game is one where finding that offensive rhythm is important.

PREDICTION

The Gophers are not consistent, they are not polished, but they are better than Rutgers. I suspect we win this one.

Minnesota - 68
Rutgers - 59