Against one of the best teams in the country, Minnesota stayed within striking distance late into the second half, but couldn't produce a late run to close the gap as they fell to Purdue 88-73. Minnesota now sits at 11-8 overall, with a 2-8 conference record. Here are three takeaways from last night's game!
Outmatched In The Frontcourt
Simply put, Minnesota was just outmatched down low last night. Purdue's two centers were able to bang down low all night long, putting all three of the Gopher post players into foul trouble. Minnesota was forced to guard the 7'4 Zach Edey with either a strong 6'9 player, or a 7' freshman who is still getting adjusted to the physicality of college basketball, and both of those are just not situations that you can win from in that matchup. Purdue went down to Edey for four quick buckets early in the first half to build up their lead that they kept for the whole game. After the quick start for Purdue down low, Minnesota was forced to collapse on the post player, which opened up a lot more options for Purdue's guards to take control.
Hot Shooting Not Enough
I know the defense struggled last night, as they couldn't contain the offense of one of the best teams in the country. But on the flip-side, Minnesota was creating some good looks offensively, and that resulted in 50% shooting from beyond the arc, and a 73 point performance. It wasn't enough last night, but if you can put up 73 points in a Big Ten matchup, that's going to win you games against a lot of teams. There was a stretch in the second half where Jamison Battle and Payton Willis were just giving the Purdue defense buckets, as they combined for 45 points on 7-12 shooting from deep. I know Battle had been struggling the past few games, but if last night is a sign of things to come, Minnesota has a chance to put together a few more wins this month.
Better Things Ahead?
Minnesota has gone through an absolute gauntlet of a schedule over the past month, not only playing nationally ranked teams, but playing some of the best big men in the entire country. Last night Minnesota not only had to deal with 7'4 Zach Edey, but also Jaden Ivey, a likely lottery pick in the next NBA Draft. Looking ahead at the schedule though, Minnesota has a good shot to win some of these upcoming games. I think this team is tired of losing, and is ready to get back on track like they had been to start the season. They have Iowa on Sunday, a team that they were battling with until the end in their last meeting, followed up by last placed Nebraska and then a Penn State team that is 9-9 this season. Obviously with the Gophers' record they can't afford to overlook any teams, but these are games that Minnesota has a good chance to not only compete in, but to win.
Top Performers For Minnesota
Payton Willis- 24 points, 10 assists, 5 rebounds
Jamison Battle- 21 points, 4 rebounds
Luke Loewe- 11 points, 3 rebounds
Top Performers For Purdue
Jaden Ivey- 21 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists
Eric Hunter Jr.- 20 points, 8-11 FG
Zach Edey- 14 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists
Sasha Stefanovic- 15 points, 7 assists
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