Minnesota Basketball: Three Keys to getting the sweep of Iowa

Where

Iowa City

When

1:30

How

BTN

Who

Iowa

The Gophers got a huge overtime win over Iowa on Christmas evening. Brandon Johnson had a career game with 26 points on 8/9 shooting from three to go along with Marcus Carr’s 30.

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Find another scoring option - Brandon Johnson going 8/9 from three was brilliant, but I don’t think we will see that performance again. We will need Carr to be great but we will once again need some output from another Gopher.

Stay out of foul trouble - Luka Garza is a beast in the middle. And Liam Robbins has been a solid replacement at center for the Gophers. Nobody is expecting him to win this head-to-head matchup, but he needs to hold his own. And he needs to hold his own without fouling. If he spends too much time on the bench, Garza will dominate.

D-E-F-E-N-S-E - The Hawkeye offense is potent. They are the #2 most efficient offense in college basketball and have scored under 87 only once this season. The Gophers outscored Iowa in the first matchup, I don’t think that strategy will work today. They must play a great game defensively this afternoon.

PREDICTION

I thought we would have no shot at beating Iowa the first time and Pitino’s squad pulled off the win. But I really don’t see lightning striking twice for the Gophers. The way this team has played on the road, I don’t think this game is going to be close.

Minnesota - 70
Iowa - 87