Walking the Beat: Minnesota
The No. 17 Wisconsin Badgers (15-3, 4-1 Big Ten) will take on a resurgent Minnesota (15-4, 3-3) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CST at Williams Arena in Minneapolis, so BadgerBlitz.com went behind enemy lines to get an inside look at Richard Pitino's Gophers. E.J. Stevens IV covers Minnesota basketball for The Gopher Report on the Rivals.com network, and our questions and his answers are included below.
I think it's safe to say that the Gophers are off to a better start now that they were at this time last year, even though they've lost back-to-back Big Ten road games. What's been the biggest difference for this team compared to last year?
EJ Stevens IV: The biggest difference is that they have added five new pieces who have made a huge impact on this years team. 6'8" freshman wing Amir Coffey has changed the dynamic in the back-court for Minnesota. He can guard four positions on defense, and offensively he has the potential to take over games. He is averaging 11.9 points and 3.8 assists per game in his first year in maroon and gold. His potential is through the roof and he will only get better with time. 6'10" center Reggie Lynch is a red-shirt junior that transferred from Illinois State two years back. After sitting out last season, Lynch has transitioned smoothly into the starting lineup and has contributed 8.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.0 blocks per game. He gives Minnesota the rim protector that they desperately needed, and despite his foul trouble in almost every game, he has helped to improve the Gophers defense dramatically. Freshmen Eric Curry and Michael Hurt have joined the rotation in addition to graduate senior shooting guard Akeem Springs as well.Starting guards Nate Mason and Dupree McBrayer have also taken a big step up from last season and are combining to score 25 points and dish out 8 assists per night. When these two are playing their best ball, they are extremely difficult to contain. They combined for 43 points and 13 assists in the Gophers road win at Purdue a few weeks back. In contrast, they combined for 12 points on 5/21 shooting in the loss at Penn State, so they are still working on consistency and bringing their "A" game night in and night out.
Do you think Richard Pitino has taken some of the heat off of himself with Minnesota's fast start? The Gophers went from 25 wins in 2013-14 to 18 in 2014-15 to just 8 last year- was he in any real danger of losing his job if this season didn't go well?
EJS: Yes and no. If the Gophers go on to lose 10 of their next 12 games to close the season, then the heat could be turned right back up. Nevertheless, he has the Gophers playing a fun brand of basketball and the fans are starting to get excited again after a miserable season last year. After Pitino led the Gophers to the 2014 NIT Title, former Athletic Director Norwood Teague signed him to an extension that put Pitino's contract buyout at over 7 million dollars if they wanted to fire him last year. For most athletic departments, that is simply not feasible. Most people close to the program knew that this team would be much improved with a top 30 recruiting class and a couple immediate impact transfers coming in. It has been an enjoyable first 19 games for Gopher fans thus far overall, although the Big Ten opener against Michigan State and last Saturday's contest at Penn State definitely could have been wins.But to answer the second question, if the team were to win less than 10 games again this season then it would certainly be reasonable to consider firing Coach Pitino. But at this point the team has shown dramatic improvement, this is still a young team that will lose only two seniors next year, and the current staff continues to recruit at a very high level. There hasn't been this kind of hope for Gopher Basketball around the fan base in quite some time.
Who are the key players to watch for this Saturday and who makes their offense click when things are going well?
EJS: It starts at the point guard position with junior Nate Mason. Mason has really played well this season and has constantly been the guy Minnesota goes to when they need a big bucket or a play to be made. He leads the team in scoring and assists, and when he is at his best he is one of the best guards in the conference. Mason played the game of his career on the road against Purdue this year when he dropped 31 points on 11/18 shooting, while dishing out 11 assists in the Gophers nine-point overtime win. Since that game, however, he has shot just 13/48 (27%) from the field. The Gophers need Mason to play like he did in the Purdue game if they are going to be able to knock off top opponents like the Badgers.The second player to watch for is red-shirt junior big man Reggie Lynch. He is such a great shot blocker and he changes the game in so many ways when he is on the court. He forces players into taking tough, contested shots because of his size and timing defensively. His biggest problem is foul trouble and he has fouled out of four of Minnesota's six Big Ten games so far. The Gophers have lost just one game this year when he plays more than 20 minutes. In close games especially, Minnesota needs Lynch on the court and protecting the rim. His offensive game is a little bit out of the ordinary but he demonstrates a couple different post moves and can finish with either hand around the bucket.Mason is the ultimate key to Minnesota's attack offensively. When he is scoring and extra attention is being paid to him, that's when Amir Coffey, Dupree McBrayer, and Akeem Springs can find openings and make the opposition pay. It just seems like everyone feeds off of Mason and when he plays well, they all find a way to play well and make winning plays for Minnesota.
What has been Minnesota's biggest weakness so far this year? Has there been a common thread in their Big Ten losses so far?
EJS: Minnesota is not a particularly deep team, especially in the front court. Foul trouble has been a consistent issue for Reggie Lynch and his presence was greatly missed in losses to Michigan State and Florida State. In the home loss to Michigan State (75-74 in OT), Lynch picked up five fouls and played just 11 minutes. He only played 15 minutes in an 8-point loss to Florida State as well. He is just so key to Minnesota's defense and protecting the rim. His backup, junior big man Bakary Konate, is a definite drop off from Lynch on both ends of the floor, although he has played well in spurts at times this year.The Gophers also are not the greatest shooting team in the world and that has plagued them at times throughout the season. They have the tendency to go through several minute stretches where they take lousy shots and play isolation ball instead of moving the ball and working as a team to create open shots. The second half against Penn State was one of the worst offensive halves of the season for the Gophers. They scored just 18 points and the offense was completely stagnant most possessions until a high ball screen was set with 10 seconds to go on the shot clock. The Gophers excel in transition and love to use their defense to create fast-break opportunities. If you can get them playing almost an exclusively half-court game and Nate Mason isn't making shots, then they could be in trouble.
Finally, what's your prediction for Saturday's game? Who wins and why?
EJS: I've gone back and forth on this one and it is hard to know what to expect. Wisconsin gutted out a come from behind victory over a feisty Michigan team this week while Minnesota had no mid-week game. The Gophers are sitting on their worst week of the season after back to back road losses at Michigan State and Penn State. All off-season Coach Pitino talked about how hard it was to sit on their last season with all the issues that they had on and off the court and how excited they were to show that last season was in the past. I think he has the Gophers ready to play in front of their home fans this weekend in what should be a sellout crowd at Williams Arena. It will be a back and forth game that I think ends up in the mid-sixties. Amir Coffey and Nate Mason will lead the way for the Gophers and Minnesota will pick up their first top 25 win at home this season.Despite a standout performance from Nigel Hayes and a couple big shots by Zak Showalter, the Gophers will hold off a late rally by the Badgers and get just enough defensive stops to win the game. Minnesota 66, Wisconsin 61
--
John Veldhuis covers Wisconsin football, basketball and recruiting for BadgerBlitz.com on the Rivals.com network. Follow him on Twitter at @JohnVeldhuis.