Minnesota learns second round NIT opponent as Indiana State defeats SMU
On Wednesday evening, the Minnesota Golden Gophers learned their second round opponent in the National Invitational Tournament as Indiana State Sycamores defated SMU 101-92 in their first round matchup.
The Golden Gophers will take on the Syacamores on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m. CT at the Hulman Center on the campus of Indiana State.
The Sycamores will be a challenging matchup for the Golden Gophers.
The Missouri Valley Conference program, despite not making the NCAA Tournament, was widely considered one of the best programs in the country throughout the season. Across the different advanced rating systems, the Sycamores ranked top 50 across the board including as high as No. 28 in the NET. They also ranked No. 40 according to ESPN's BPI and No. 41 according to KenPom.
The Sycamores will enter the second round with a 29-6 record this season.
Of those six losses, four were to Quadrant 1 opponents in Alabama, Michigan State, and Drake twice. They also fell to Illinois State and Southern Illinois in mid-February, in back-to-back games.
Overall, the Syacmores are 28-2 against non-Quadrant 1 opponents this season. For Indiana State, Minnesota will be considered a Quadrant 3 opponent. The Sycamores through their first 35 games are a perfect 10-0 against Quadrant 3 opponents this season.
Indiana State will present a dangerous and challenging offense for the Golden Gophers on Sunday.
This season, the Sycamores are averaging 84.9 points per game which ranks seventh in the country. They're the best shooting team in the country within the perimeter, shooting 62.5%.
They're also shooting 50.7% as a team from the field this eason and 38.5% from three-point range. They'll take their fair share of three-point attempts throughout a game as well, averaging 28.4 three-point attempts per game this season.
Defensively, Indiana State is not as strong, allowing 72.6 points per game this season which ranks 204th nationally. Opponents are shooting 43.4% from the field this season, which puts the Sycamores shooting defense in the middle of the pack nationally.
From an individual player perspective, this is unsurprisingly, a deep offense for Indiana State, featuring three shooters who are averaging 16.0+ points per game this season in sophomore center Robbie Avila, sophomore guard Ryan Conwell, and junior guard Isaiah Swope.
Junior guards Jayson Kent and Julian Larry are both averaging double-digit scoring efforts per game this season as well.
In Indiana State's win over SMU, Jayson Kent had a team leading 35 points on 11-of-12 shooting from the field. He also had nine rebounds in the game. Ryan Conwell also had a big night with 25 points and five rebounds. Robbie Avila and Julian Larry both had double-digit scoring efforts as well while rotational piece Xavier Bledson had 14 points in 28 minutes off the bench.
Gophers Nation will have a deeper look at the Golden Gophers' matchup with Indiana State this weekend ahead of Sunday afternoon's matchup.
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