Three takeaways from Minnesota's win over Green Bay
The Gophers took down the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix on Wednesday night led by Marcus Carr who poured in 35 points to go along with 7 rebounds and 4 assists.
Both Gach made an impressive debut in maroon and gold as well, scoring 14 points and recording 5 rebounds and 4 assists.
A huge first half lead was built by the Gophers, but low energy in the second half brought it down to 10 points before picking it and ending getting it back to 30 again to win 99-69.
After a very encouraging first half, the second half performance left a lot to be desired and raised questions about this teams ability to maintain energy with no fans in the arena.
Along with that, here are three things TGR took away from Minnesota's opening night victory.
Marcus Carr began his Big Ten Player of the Year candidacy
I'm sure Marcus Carr was feeling somewhat disrespected when he was only named Big Ten honorable mention after his big sophomore season. After dipping his toes in the NBA Draft waters, Carr returned to Minnesota after a hard summer training in Canada where he retooled his body and worked on his game.
35 points, 7 boards, and 4 assists is quite the way to start the season, and while the final score was decisive, it was Carr that righted the ship when things got close in the second half. At times it looked really easy for him.
Names like Luka Garza of Iowa and Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois have a heard start in the talk right now and they'll get their much deserved praise, but if Marcus Carr is able to get Minnesota in the mix of things he'll get his flowers too.
Both Gach brings impressive versatility to the Gophers lineup
When you look at the starting lineup, 6'6" Both Gach is the starting wing. He can grab a rebound and push the length of the court to start the offense. He moves fast, and can quickly change directions. He does a really nice job attacking downhill on the catch.
When Marcus Carr goes to the bench for Jamal Mashburn Jr., he makes the seamless transition to point guard where he's able to be the floor general and allow guys like Mashburn and Gabe Kalscheur spot up on the perimeter.
They say your position isn't what you play on offense, it's what you can defend. Gach does a good job guarding the two and the three, and uses his long arms and quickness. He's going to be a really important part of this teams success this year on both ends of the floor.
This Gopher team looks different
I like this Gopher team to exceed expectations and finish in the top five or six of the conference. They're deep, and Pitino can play some interesting lineup combinations to give their opponent some different looks. They can play long with Gach and Ihnen both showing positional versatility. They can put Gach at the one and put shooters in like Gabe Kalscheur and Jamal Mashburn Jr. in with him to spot up. There's plenty of combinations that are interesting, and it will only add to that if Tre Williams comes back to the lineup and proves he can be a part of the puzzle.
Although they didn't make any of their attempts, it looks like Liam Robbins and Brandon Johnson will have jumpshots the opponent has to respect, so they add increased floor spacing. That's something that Minnesota hasn't had from multiple bigs in the lineup in the past few years.
The next step is knocking down those shots. Gophers shot 7/37 from three and Kalscheur was 1/8. I trust he'll be better than this, but the shooting slump starting the season is concerning after his numbers fell last year.