The Big Ten Conference Tournament got kicked off last night in Indianapolis, and Minnesota was unable to come away with a win in the opening round. They fell to Penn State 60-51. Here are three of the key takeaways from the game.
Ball Movement Falls Off In The 2nd
Minnesota put up an impressive 10 assists in the first half of last night's game, but they ended up finishing the night with 13, which means the ball movement just wasn't there in the second half. Guys were starting to get more fatigued, which led to more players standing and more isolation shots. This led to a major decrease in both field goal percentage and three point percentage over the course of the second half. Because of this, Minnesota just wasn't putting points on the board, and they weren't able to keep up with the Penn State run towards the end of the game.
Gophers Get One Minute From The Bench
I think there were some positives but also some negatives to playing just one minute off the bench last night. Yes, the starters were playing well last night, especially in the first half. Coach wanted to keep that momentum and chemistry flowing during a close game in the second. Ultimately the team just wasn't making enough plays down the stretch and ended up losing the game. Yes, bringing in some fresh legs off the bench would have helped give guys a rest and come back on with fresher legs. But you also have to consider that guys coming into a game off the bench may not be adjusted to the tempo right away, and could disrupt how the team had been operating for the previous 30+ minutes. In the end, Penn State finished with 18 points off the bench while Minnesota scored 0.
Quick Guards Hurt Again
Minnesota seemed to have difficulties with quick guards all season long, and that was the case again last night with Jalen Pickett. Despite also playing all 40 minutes, Pickett was fresh throughout the second half and was torching Minnesota players to the basket. Guys just couldn't keep up with him and cut him off towards the basket, and it resulted in him scoring 22 points on 9-14 shooting. With Minnesota's smallest starter last night being 6'4 the Gophers don't really have a guy who can get up under a ball handler and disrupt them. That lack of quickness has shown as they struggled to contain some of the speedier guards who can attack the basket this season.
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