Gopher Basketball
| Game Info | |
| Opponent: | Michigan Wolverines |
| When: | 7 pm, January 21st, 2006 |
| Where: | Williams Arena ““ Minneapolis, MN |
| Television: | FSN |
After a winless two-game road trip, the Gopher men are back in The Barn Saturday night ““ again looking for their first conference victory. Dan Monson has had a lot of success against Michigan during his tenure, posting six victories in nine meetings, but for once this year’s Wolverines actually appear to be playing up to their ability. And given their perennial talent-laden roster, that ability is pretty high.
Michigan is 12-3 on the season and 2-2 in Big Ten play. Those three losses were all against Top 15 teams, and two of the three were on the road. While the Wolverines have yet to defeat a ranked opponent (or at least not one that is currently ranked), they have knocked off the likes of Notre Dame, Miami, and Butler. And they’re coming off a 17-point victory over a Northwestern team that outplayed the Gophers two weeks ago.
On paper, the Wolverines’ roster is pretty similar to the Gophers’ (or at least to what we expected the Gopher roster to be like). They have a talented, veteran backcourt and some talented but largely unproven size upfront. Seniors Daniel Horton (15 ppg, 6 apg) and Lester Abram (13 ppg) lead the way along with junior Dion Harris (11 ppg). Inside, junior center Courtney Sims (14 ppg, 7 rpg) has greatly improved his offensive game and all-around consistency. Senior big men Chris Hunter (6 ppg) and Graham Brown (5 ppg, 8 rpg) are also very effective at times.
Here are my Gopher Keys of the Game:
1. Big Jon. Freshman Jonathan Williams is coming off the best game of his career having posted a double-double against Iowa. With Michigan’s size inside, he’s going to be needed again. Williams brought the energy that has been lacking from the Gophers at times this season, and that energy can help get his teammates and the crowd going in this one. Williams needs to go out there and set the tone in the paint.
2. Offensive Glass. There are way too many problems with the Gopher offense right now for me to try to address them. But there’s one tip that always works for me: when your shot isn’t falling, the best way to make yourself feel better is to grab an offensive board and get the putback. In other words, Minnesota needs to get as many easy, hustle points as they can. If they start with those, the rest will hopefully follow.
3. Be Happy. It’s easy to say “œDon’t Worry”, but the Gophers obviously have been. Instead of looking at late free throws and possessions as a way to win the game, they’re thinking about how blowing those chances will lose the game. Hard as it is, the Gophers need to forget that they’re 0-4 and just go out, play hard, have fun, and try to get to 1-0 starting now.
It’s hard to say (and Wisconsin and Maryland fans would argue), but Michigan could potentially be the best opponent Minnesota has faced so far this year. At least one through five they’re very solid. But the Gophers can be that good, too, if they don’t play scared. It’s hard to be confident in them pulling it off (just like it’s hard for them to be confident), but I’m getting tired of predicting losses. My prediction: Minnesota 68 Michigan 66.
Talk about the game on our Gopher Basketball message board.