Jake Depue: Gophers notebook: What’s gone wrong with Minnesota?

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,588
Reaction score
15,671
Points
113
per Jake:

A lot can change in two weeks. On December 1, the Gophers were 7-1, ranked No. 12 in the nation, and being talked about as a dark horse Final Four team. They had wins at Providence and over a ranked Alabama team, and were coming off a close loss to a top-10 team in a game they played short-handed. It sure seemed like the Gophers were legit.

By that, I don’t mean a team that was going to simply make the tournament, but one that was getting significant national buzz and had a chance to be a force in the Big Ten. That still might happen, but the last two weeks haven’t been pretty.

After a home win against Rutgers, the Gophers got beat handily at Nebraska. The 10-point loss in Lincoln was a bit misleading; the Gophers were down big the entire second half, closing the gap from 17 to 10 in garbage time. Next came a 16-point loss at Arkansas, in which the Razorbacks shot 57% from the field, carving up Minnesota’s defense on their way to 95 points. Finally, Monday, came the worst of the bunch. Yes, the Gophers won, beating Drake by 1 point at home. Drake went 7-24 last year, is picked to finish last in the Missouri Valley conference, and lost earlier this year to 1-10 Nebraska-Omaha, a team that only transitioned to Division I six years ago. It was as ugly as a win can get, with the Gophers playing uninspired basketball from start to finish. Had Drake not shot poorly from the field (37%), the Gophers very likely would have lost.

So, what’s gone wrong? Let’s take a look.

Defending and shooting the three

Foul trouble and its defensive impact

The bench

https://www.1500espn.com/gophers-2/2017/12/gophers-notebook-whats-gone-wrong-minnesota/

Go Gophers!!
 

Pretty good rehash of all the things we have been talking about here. Not much mystery into why the team has struggle of late, just have to hope they can come up with the answers on how to change things going forward.
 




Top Bottom