Minnesota takes a trip south for a rematch with the Iowa Hawkeyes this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The last matchup saw the Gophers struggle in the first half before rallying in the second to make it a close game. Minnesota ended up falling 81-71 in the end. Will the Gophers be able to find a different result today? Here are three keys to the game if they hope to make that happen.
Bring The Intensity Early
Minnesota seems to start slow in a lot of games, and that was the case a few weeks ago in their first meeting with Iowa. On the road against a rowdy crowd, Minnesota can't allow the Hawkeyes to pick up some early momentum and get their home crowd fired up early. Minnesota has to come out ready to play from the jump, and bring the intensity on defense to prevent any big plays. In the first meeting, Minnesota trailed 27-43 at halftime, and they can't afford to let that happen again. Even for a second half team, that's just too much of a deficit to make up in a Big Ten game.
More Minutes From Treyton Thompson?
Minnesota's last meeting with Iowa was a bit of a breakout game for the freshman. He played 11 minutes, scoring 8 points in the process. He provided a spark in the second half that helped Minnesota get back in the game and keep things close. I know earlier in the week against Purdue he didn't get minutes until Curry and Daniels were in foul trouble, as Purdue had some massive size in the frontcourt. But Iowa doesn't have that dominating post presence that a lot of Big Ten teams do, meaning there's the opportunity for Treyton to play throughout the game. He may not have the strength of Charlie Daniels inside, but his length defensively and ability to stretch the floor on offense add another dimension to this Gopher's team.
End Possessions After One Shot
Obviously this has to be a point of emphasis in every game, as Minnesota commonly struggles at rebounding the ball. But in the last meeting against Iowa this was particularly a big struggle. Minnesota gave up 15 offensive boards to Iowa, and those rebounds led to 17 second chance points. In a 10 point game, that's a huge number that makes all of the difference in the game. Minnesota excels at defending the three, but just can't seem to bring in the long rebounds that result from those misses. I don't have all of the answers for Minnesota's rebounding problems, but every player just has to stay locked in on finding a man to box out, and attack the ball with two hands rather than just tipping it out like I've seen quite frequently this season. If Minnesota can limit Iowa's offensive rebounds, this game should be a close one.
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