Preview: Minnesota vs. Penn State

It’s been a long and frustrating season for the Gophers and the team is only half way through its Big Ten schedule. At 1-7, the Gophers find themselves alone in the Big Ten cellar and remain a team without an identity, consistent scoring or any type of sustainable momentum following last months dominating performance against Indiana. On the other hand, the Gophers’ Wednesday night opponent Penn State is coming off one of the biggest wins in program history after shocking Illinois at Assembly Hall.

The Nittany Lions’ win at Illinois appears to have been a situation where the Illini were hoping that PSU would be overlooking them in preparation for the Gopher game (wink wink) but Travis Parker and Geary Claxton combined for 41 points as the duo sparked the incredible upset. The win improved Penn State to 3-6 in Big Ten play and 11-9 overall.

Coach Dan Monson shook the lineup up for the last two games starting Jamal Abu Shamala and Zach Puchtel. The move has ignited more energy from the opening tip, and Jamal had a career high 16 points against Ohio State. Whether these two guys remain a fixture with the starting five remains to be seen, but if nothing else, the team has avoided the early first half deficits that plagued it early on in the season.

Despite the Penn State’s huge win at Illinois and the Gophers’ spiraling season, this remains a game the Gophers have the potential to win. The key word is “œpotential” but if the team is going to catch Purdue in the standings, these are the type of games the team needs to win. Here are the keys to the game:

1. Force the hangover. Penn State is coming off quite possibly the biggest regular season win in program history, and an emotional let down would not be a surprise. If the Gophers can come out strong to start the game, it will not only give the team some much needed confidence, but could ignite a much understood hangover.

2. Give Jamal the ball. Jamal Abu Shamala single-handedly kept the Gophers in the game at Ohio State in the first half. He was hitting jumpers from all over the court and even created his own shot off the dribble. With any type of postseason play in great jeopardy, it would appear as if Jamal will continue to see an increasingly larger role. Let’s hope the coaches put these extended minutes to good use and continue to find creative and new ways for Jamal to get some open looks.

3. Dictate the issues. Let’s face reality: we are the only Big Ten team with one conference win. We have nothing to lose so it makes very little sense that we should sit back on our heels. What’s the worst that can happen ““ we’d lose a Big Ten game? Big deal. We’re halfway through the conference schedule and we have already lost more Big Ten games this year than we did during last year’s full 16-game schedule. So throw the full court trap on Penn State for 40 minutes. Create some turnovers, get a few fast break buckets and play to our teams strength which is not with half court sets.

This game is winnable. Whether the team has it in them to limit turnovers and fight for a full 40 minutes is yet to be seen. My prediction: Penn State 74 Minnesota 67