Fresh off of their first loss of the season to Michigan State, Minnesota will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines tonight at 5:30pm with the game airing on FS1. Michigan is a big and talented team, so it will be another tough test for the Gophers. These are three keys to the game if Minnesota hopes to come away with the win, as well as a few key players to watch.
Get Physical With The Freshmen
Michigan came into the season with a loaded 2021 recruiting class, and a lot of those true freshmen will be expected to play in tonight's game. With limited Big 10 experience under their belt, the veteran Gophers can try to bring some of that physicality that the conference is known for. Minnesota will have a lot of 21+ year old players going against guys who are still teenagers, so they can make up for what they lack in talent as a team with some toughness. Minnesota is a team that showed they can scrap and compete, toughing out some close games and even making things close in the end with Michigan State. If they can bring that scrappiness to the floor tonight against a young team, they could make things difficult for Michigan.
Slow Down Hunter Dickinson
Not only is Hunter Dickinson one of the biggest players in the country at 7'1 and 260 pounds, but he's also one of the best big men in the country. He could be Minnesota's biggest test in the paint to date, and will have a 4 inch advantage over Eric Curry in that individual matchup. No matter who the Gophers throw on him, he's going to have the size advantage, which means Minnesota needs to make things difficult for Michigan trying to get the ball to him on the block. Wings need to have active hands, a helpside defender needs to be in good position with their head on a swivel ready to make a play, and Eric Curry/Charlie Daniels need to be fighting for every inch on the block. Hunter leads Michigan in points and is a major rebounding presence, so keeping him off the offensive glass will also be key.
Limit Turnovers
Playing on the road against a conference opponent means facing a loud and rough crowd. Because of this, it's important to limit transition dunks and other types of plays that will heavily swing the momentum by getting the crowd involved. The best way to stop those types of plays from happening is to not turn the ball over. Making smart passes and not trying to force things to happen will allow Minnesota to extend possessions and work for high percentage looks. This might even lead to guys getting jumpy on the wings, which can lead to some backdoor cuts which is something we saw a lot early in the season as guys were able to beat their defender off the ball for easy looks.
Key Players For Minnesota
Jamison Battle (6'7 Sophomore Forward)- 17.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg
Payton Willis (6'4 Senior Guard)- 16.4 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4 apg
Eric Curry (6'9 Senior Forward/Center)- 8.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg
Key Players For Michigan
Hunter Dickinson (7'1 Sophomore Center)- 14.6 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Eli Brooks (6'1 Grad Senior Guard)- 13.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg
Moussa Diabate (6'11 Freshman Forward)- 7.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 18 mpg
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