Minnesota loses at Assembly Hall

Minnesota lost to Indiana at Assembly Hall 72-67. The Gophers fall to 13-16 on the season and 7-12 in conference play. Daniel Oturu led all scorers with 24 points.

Topline numbers (ignoring the efficiency for a second) were actually pretty good. The Gophers shot over 40% from the field and from behind the arc. Conversely, they were just 8-14 from the line. Then again, the Hoosiers shot an even worse percentage (9/17). So why did Minnesota lose? Two reasons. 1. Daniel Oturu needed 27 field goal attempts to score 24 points. Those attempts included a missed dunk and several missed layups. 2. Minnesota’s defensive rotations in the second half were heinous. Isaiah Ihnen, who went 3/3 from distance, made a lot of expected mistakes for a player who has not played a lot of in-game defense this year.

With the loss, the Gophers officially lock up the #12 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

Notes

Eight assists and twelve turnovers is no way to go through life son.

If someone wants to learn how not to defend a weakside two man game ball screen, they would be strongly advised to watch the second half miscommunications from both teams.