Minnesota faced their first big test of the season against a tough Western Kentucky team, and fended off a late run to pick up the 73-69 win. I'll be giving a few of my key takeaways from the nail-biting win, as well as some of the top performers from the night.
The Eric Curry Factor
I had mentioned in my game preview how strong post play was going to be key for Minnesota going up against a big Western Kentucky team, and Eric Curry delivered. The sixth year senior is moving as well as we've seen in years, and he still provides that physical, strong presence in the paint to compete against talented size. In the second half he went on a strong run over the course of a few minutes, scoring with a physical post up, knocking down a pair of mid-range jumpers, finding a cutting teammate with a well-timed pass, and then setting a hard screen that led to an easy bucket. He may not be playing 34+ minutes like the other starters, but his presence on the floor may be as important as any other Gopher.
Winning As A Team
The Gophers may not have a star guard like Marcus Carr or Nate Mason, or even a dominant post presence like Daniel Oturu or Jordan Murphy anymore, but this team has already developed a nice chemistry and plays good team basketball together. They're unselfish, willing to do the dirty work, and for the most part take smart, high percentage shots. I think Luke Loewe is the embodiment of this new team attitude, as he may have scored just five points but was constantly making scrappy plays on the defensive end, and finding the open man as he picked up 5 of the team's 11 assists.
Lack Of Quickness Hurts Late
From a physical attributes standpoint, this team lacks both height and quickness. While the Gophers were able to make up for that lack of size last night with their effort and toughness, their lack of quickness hurt them in the second half. The 6'1 Dayvion McKnight went off for 34 points as he was flying up and down the floor, or breaking guys down off the dribble to get to whatever spot he wanted to. Minnesota just didn't have someone who can move laterally with a smaller, quicker guard like McKnight, and it allowed Western Kentucky to make it a tight game in the end. Minnesota's team defense has been impressive, but that lack of a quick, shutdown defender could hurt them against some of the more talented guards they see this year.
Key Players For Minnesota
Jamison Battle- 20 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists
Payton Willis- 19 points, 6 rebounds, 2 steals
EJ Stephens- 18 points, 5 rebounds
Eric Curry- 11 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists
Key Players For Western Kentucky
Dayvion McKnight- 34 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals
Jairus Hamilton- 12 points, 5 rebounds
What's Next For Minnesota?
Minnesota faces off with Princeton on Sunday, November 14th at 6:30pm on ESPN2. Princeton defeated South Carolina last night to advance in the Asheville Championship.
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