After taking down Concordia St. Paul in an exhibition game last week, Minnesota gets the regular season kicked off tomorrow against Kansas City. We caught a glimpse of what the Gophers' team will look like last week, and based on that I'll be going over three keys to the game, as well as a few players to watch on both teams.
Rebounding The Ball
Heading into the season we knew size would be one of the weaknesses for this year's team, and that showed in last week's exhibition game as Minnesota was outrebounded by D2 Concordia St. Paul. Now heading into the first regular season game against a team with four players measured at 6-foot-8 or more, rebounding the ball will be a top priority. Eric Curry, Charlie Daniels, and Treyton Thompson will need to be putting a body on an opponent after every shot and securing rebounds with two hands. We saw too many times against CSP where Gophers would tip a ball out of the air but weren't able to secure possession. Jamison Battle will also provide an extra rebounding presence, and Sean Sutherlin's energy and effort off the bench will be key in that aspect as well.
Bench Production
Against Concordia St. Paul, Minnesota's bench scored just 10 points on the night. Six of those came from Sean Sutherlin while Treyton Thompson and Abdoulaye Thiam scored two points each. The Gophers can't be overly reliant on their starting five to contribute 88% of their scoring in every game, so someone else will have to step up. Sutherlin showed some flashes of getting to the rim, and can pose a threat in that aspect. Thiam was aggressive attacking the basket or getting off shots from deep, but couldn't seem to get anything to fall. If he can find his shooting touch and get a couple of threes to drop off the bench, he could provide a much needed scoring spark.
Avoiding Foul Trouble
Looking back at the box score from last week's exhibition game, this is one of the things that Minnesota did well. Eric Curry had just two fouls in 24 minutes, while the Treyton Thompson had zero and Charlie Daniels also had just two. The post depth is slim for this team, and Treyton Thompson still needs some more experience getting acclimated at the college level. This means that the Gophers cant afford to have guys sitting on the bench in foul trouble. In order to accomplish this, the guards can't afford to get beat off the dribble and put their teammates in difficult positions defending the rim. Limiting offensive rebounds will also be key as that will eliminate some second chance shots around the rim that can often result in fouls. The Gophers will have to remain disciplined and play smart on the defensive end to keep their guys on the floor.
Key Players - Kansas City (last season's stats)
Josiah Allick (6'8 Junior Forward)- 15 ppg, 6 rpg
Evan Gilyard II (5'10 Grad Senior Guard)- 9.2 ppg, 2.8 apg (New Mexico State)
Marvin Nesbitt Jr. (6'4 Grad Senior Guard)- 10.6 ppg, 6.2 rpg
Key Players - Minnesota (exhibition game stats)
Jamison Battle (6'7 Sophomore Forward)- 24 points, 8 rebounds
Payton Willis (6'4 Senior Guard)- 23 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Eric Curry (6'9 Redshirt Senior Forward)- 7 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists
Eylijah Stephens (6'3 Senior Guard)- 10 points, 2 steals
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