Preview: Gophers vs. Ohio State

Once again, another college basketball season has flown by. The Gophers’ home schedule now has just two games left on it, and two road games after that will end the regular season. Time flies…in more ways than one. Only 4 minutes away from a 7-3 record 10 days ago, Minnesota now sits at 6-6.

This is truly a turning point for the Gophers. Will they begin a winning streak that takes them all the way to the NCAA Tournament, or will an unexpectedly promising season end with what would now be considered a disappointing trip to the NIT? Four games will tell the story, and those four games are about to fly by as well.

Kicking off the stretch run is a home game against Ohio State. As no Gopher fan could forget, Minnesota knocked off the Buckeyes 60-56 in overtime exactly a month ago. The win arguably ranks as the Gophers’ most impressive of the season, especially when you consider how they did it. With Jeff Hagen out with a sprained knee for the entire second half and OT, and with Ohio State appearing to pull away down the stretch, Minnesota rallied with strong defense, good teamwork, and a dominating late-game run by Vincent Grier.

The Buckeyes came into that game as the hottest three-point shooting team in the country, but they hit just 2 of 21 from beyond the arc against the scrambling Gopher ‘D’. Power forward Terence Dials (#34) was able to do some damage with Hagen on the bench and finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but good help defense actually kept him somewhat in check. It was Matt Sylvester‘s 17-point performance that actually hurt Minnesota most. Because of that, his one-game suspension (to be served tomorrow) won’t have the Gophers too disappointed.

Minnesota’s victory over the Buckeyes came in the middle of their 4-game losing streak, but they’ve since won 6 of 7. It’s been a favorable schedule, but Ohio State has still played well. Outside of running into a buzzsaw at Michigan State (the Spartans won 83-69), the Buckeyes have been doing it with defense more than the red-hot shooting of their nonconference schedule. They’ve held Indiana to 44 points and Michigan to 46, and they’ll be looking to do the same to a struggling Gopher offense this weekend.

Here are my Gopher Keys of the Game:

1. Don’t Play with Fire. The Gophers played their hearts out in the victory at Ohio State, but they also got lucky. Had the Buckeyes shot even slightly better than 2-21 from long-range, the outcome would have been different. Minnesota almost certainly won’t be as lucky this time around, so it needs to play very tight defense on the perimeter. Outside of Dials, every Buckeye on the floor will be a three-point threat, so the Gophers are going to have to work very hard at sticking to their man.

2. Turn Down the Dial(s). With Terence Dials being Ohio State’s only real low post threat, the obvious game plan is to make him work on the defensive end and hopefully get him in foul trouble. Hagen’s injury the last time around made that difficult, and Dials wound up with just one foul while playing all 45 minutes. A healthy Minnesota front line this time around will hopefully be able to make him work a little harder than that.

3. Get Back in the Saddle. If the Gophers look back at their three straight losses, or if they look ahead at the four games they need to win, they’re going to be in trouble. What they need to do is live the old cliche of “one game at a time” and just go out there and play the game. They need to get their energy back on defense and their confidence back on offense, and the rest will hopefully fall into place. Easier said than done….

Ohio State is a good team that’s playing well, but the Gophers know they can beat them. They’ve done it before, and with the homecourt crowd and a healthy Hagen, they can certainly do it again. The Buckeyes are going to get some punches in, but I’m hopeful that the Gophers will counterpunch even harder. It’s now or never. My prediction: Minnesota 71 Ohio State 66.

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