Minnesota is back in action on Wednesday, December 23rd as they host Green Bay at Williams Arena. The game will air at 4pm on the Big 10 Network. Minnesota heads into the game at 9-1 to take on the 2-8 Phoenix. These are three keys to the game for Minnesota if they hope to come away with the win!
Ball Security
The Gophers have excelled at limiting turnovers during the first leg of the season, but that all fell apart during their last game. The large amount of turnovers allowed Corpus Christi to keep the game close, and that's something that the Gophers can't allow against Green Bay. Turnovers lead to transition buckets, and going up against a team that struggles to score, limiting those transition looks will be key. Fewer turnovers also leads to more shots, allowing the Gophers to put more points on the board. Win the turnover battle, win the game.
Put The Game Away Early
Green Bay has just one win against a D1 team this season, and although Minnesota can't afford to overlook them, they also can't afford to give them confidence by keeping the game close. Minnesota needs to come out ready to play from the jump, and use that intensity to build up an early lead. If you can take Green Bay out of the game early, it will help build some confidence throughout the game, and help Minnesota hold on to their lead. This also allows for Coach Ben Johnson to get some new faces in the rotation, which brings us to our next key!
Get Some New Players Involved
Once again, you can't overlook Green Bay in this game, but it should hopefully be an opportunity to get the freshmen involved and get them some more experience. Green Bay doesn't have a lot of size, so we may get to see Treyton Thompson in the mix to see what he can do on both ends of the floor. It would also be nice to see Abdoulaye Thiam get a few minutes in a row to see if he can get into some sort of rhythm offensively. Not only is it important to get these players experience in case they are called to play more during the conference season, but also for next year so that the Gophers return more than a couple players with high major experience.
Key Players For Minnesota
Jamison Battle (6'7 Sophomore Forward)- 18.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg
Payton Willis (6'4 Senior Guard)- 16.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg
EJ Stephens (6'3 Senior Guard)- 11.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg
Key Players For Green Bay
Emmanuel Ansong (6'4 Junior Forward)- 12.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg
Donovan Ivory (6'6 Sophomore Wing)- 10.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg
Kamari McGee (6' Freshman PG)- 8.2 ppg, 2.1 rpg
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