The Minnesota men's basketball program will look to improve on their 9-22 record from a year ago starting on Monday night as they take on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats out of the SWAC.
Monday night's matchup will be the sixth all-time between Minnesota and Bethune-Cookman. The Golden Gophers have won the previous five matchups by an average score of 90.2 - 55.0. The last time these two programs met was last December, a 79-52 win for the Golden Gophers.
WHERE, WHEN, HOW TO WATCH, SPREAD
WHEN: Monday at 7:00pm CT
WHERE: Williams Arena (15,261) -- Minneapolis, Minnesota
TV/STREAM: B1G+
Radio: KTLK (1130 AM/103.5 FM)
SPREAD: Minnesota -17.5 / 138.5 total
What are the four factors? Read Ken Pomeroy's breakdown of the Four Factors here.
Storylines to watch
1. Can the Golden Gophers offense take a step forward?
The Golden Gophers had one of the worst offenses in the country last season, posting 62.9 points per game which ranked 350th out of 363 Division I programs. They shot just 43.3% from the field last season including 32.5% from three-point range. They'll have to improve their free throw shooting dramatically as well after making just 61.9% of their attempts from the line last season which ranked dead last in the country.
2. How do the Gophers replace the lost production of Jamison Battle?
Losing Jamison Battle this offseason was a huge hit to the Gophers. The Minnesota native was one of the program's top scorers a season ago, averaging 12.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. Add in the loss of Ta'Lon Cooper and two of the Gophers' top three scorers from an already poor offensive season are gone. They'll need someone to step up this season.
3. Can Pharrel Payne step into a big role for the Gophers? (Also, will he play?)
That player who could potentially step up might be Cottage Grove native Pharrel Payne. The sophomore forward played in 30 games last season including making four starts. He was impressive when on the court averaging 8.2 points per game as well as 5.2 rebounds. He'll have a chance to build off those numbers as he moves into the starting spot left by Jamison Battle. The Gophers will likely lean on Payne and Dawson Garcia to carry the brunt of the offense's total production this season. Notably, Payne missed the Gophers exhibition game against Macalaster with an injury, and it's unclear if he'll be able to play on Tuesday.
Bethune-Cookman players to watch
It was a tough offseason for Bethune-Cookman who lost three of their top five scorers from last season in guard Marcus Garrett (13.5 ppg), K.J. Davis (11.2 ppg), and Joe French (9.8 ppg). With that, they'll lean on sophomore guard Zion Harmon and senior guard Dhashon Dyosn for the majority of their offensive success this season, also look for senior Derric Carter-Hollinger to have a potential impact in this one as well.
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