Big win for the Gophers. I didn't have an issue with the way the games was called, the refs (for the most part) were consistent. FSU will definitely be the biggest and one of the most athletic teams the Gophers face all year. It was nice to see the team find a way to win against a team that on paper should have given them a lot of trouble. FSU got back in to the game because we couldn't match their size inside, but also because the Gophers (especially the Gopher bigs) missed a lot of good looks on the offensive end. I never felt like the Gophers were in serious danger of losing, because they managed to get a good look at the basket almost every time down the floor. A couple great stats for the Gophers: only 6 turnovers for the game and they won the offensive boards 13-10 (lost overall boards 36-32, which I'll take any day against that FSU team)
Quick individual player thoughts:
Oto: Can't question his effort out there. He was out sized and out talented all night, but continued to battle and came up with some with some scrappy rebounds/loose balls.
Mathieu: He was the key at the end of the game, especially with his pressure defensively. His finish over the 7'3 guy when we hadn't had a bucket in ages was huge as were his two free throws on a subsequent possession.
Dre Hollins: Got us off to a nice start and looked like the 'Dre of old for much of the game. Would have liked to see him make a couple more free throws and be a little more aggressive in looking for his shot in the 2nd half. Did he try to dunk on the 7 foot Ojo on that one break?
Austin Hollins: He reminds everyone that he's a big time athlete again. His 5 points on back to back buckets with around 7 minutes left were important as we couldn't stop FSU during that stretch. He also made a great play to coral that lob from Mathieu and get it to Oto who probably should have went up for the layup instead of feeding it to Mo(although it looked like a pass Mo should have handled).
Joey King: Gives up a bunch on the defensive end, but it was refreshing to have a "big" who could knock down some free throws.
Mo Walker: Looked like a guy who just hasn't played much basketball lately. Had a number of opportunities for "and 1's" and couldn't finish down low. He also had a couple fouls and a couple mishaps with the ball that all seemed attributed to the game being a little too fast for him right now. It's like he's in Spring training and everyone else is in their regular season groove... I expect things to improve for him.
Charles Buggs: Best minutes as a Gopher. Nice individual defense and a confident jump shot on offense. Hopefully, he gains some confidence from this performance and can build off of it.
Elliott Eliason: Really quiet game from Eliason on the stat sheet, but he's clearly an important presence for the Gophers.
As a team I was impressed by a number of things, especially how well are guys pressured ball handlers without fouling in the last 2 minutes or so. It was clear they've been coached well as EVERYBODY had their hands up while guarding the ball making it clear they weren't making contact. On the offensive end, it certainly seemed like Coach Pitino has emphasized the pump fake with this group. Andre, Austin, and Joey all had multiple instances of using a shot fake to create room for either a shot or penetration to get someone else a look. I don't know if this was an emphasis for FSU in particular or if it was just a skill worked on in practice, but it was clear it was something we worked on.
