Gopher Basketball
| Game Info | |
| Opponent: | Arizona State Sun Devils |
| When: | 9:30 pm, December 5th, 2005 |
| Where: | Wells Fargo Arena ““ Tempe, AZ |
| Television: | Fox Sports Net |
Ordinarily a trip to a name school in a rebuilding year is a great opportunity to get a tournament resume-building win. But with a couple of 20 ppg scorers still injured, this is going to be another tough task for the Gophers. Vincent Grier is definitely still out, and Moe Hargrow is very questionable with his sprained ankle. I expect that he’ll give it a go, but it’s hard to know how effective he’ll be.
But Arizona State fans probably aren’t too sympathetic, since they lost all-everything Ike Diogu to the NBA this summer. They’re off to a 4-0 start this year, but Minnesota will be their first real test. One interesting thing for Minnesota fans to watch will be the play of Bryson Krueger, ASU’s leading scorer, who was a Gopher juco recruiting target a couple of years ago.
Here are my Gopher Keys of the Game:
1. Road Rules. Whenever you go on the road, but especially when you’re missing some scoring punch, outworking the host defensively and on the boards is key. The Gophers have been playing well in those areas of late, and the Sun Devils haven’t really faced that yet this year. The return of Rico Tucker will definitely help here.
2. Inside. The Gopher big men have been playing well lately, and with ASU having a fairly small lineup, there should be opportunity for that streak to continue. Playing with toughness and confidence is easier done at home than on the road, J’son Stamper will definitely lead by example and sophomores Dan Coleman and Spencer Tollackson should be ready to follow.
3. Out. As much as I want to see an inside game, the Gophers are likely also going to need a solid night from outside in order to win. Adam Boone‘s due for another hot night, Jamal Abu-Shamala and Coleman have been shooting well, and hopefully Rico will be able to find his stroke too with a game now under his belt. And of course, Minnesota needs to work it inside and then kick it out.
With Hargrow and Grier, I would be disappointed with anything other than a victory. With just a healthy Hargrow, I’d probably call this a toss-up. And with Moe’s health in doubt, I have to make the Gophers an underdog. But this is still a game they can win, and it would be a very big win at that. My prediction: Arizona State 72 Minnesota 65.
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