DanielHouse
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When the veterans haven’t played well, Minnesota’s freshmen have stepped up all season. Guard Gabe Kalscheur scored 21 points and big-man Daniel Oturu added 20 of his own during Sunday’s game at Rutgers. This time, it wasn’t enough as the Gophers dropped an important road game, 68-64.
Minnesota committed nine second half turnovers and the Scarlet Knights capitalized with 14 points off those mistakes. The tide turned during a three-minute sequence out of halftime, which featured five Minnesota turnovers. The Gophers had opportunities at the end to steal a victory, but inconsistent offense was the difference.
Minnesota is now 1-7 on the road in Big Ten play and has dropped six of its last seven games. With this loss, the team’s NCAA Tournament resume takes a significant hit.
Outside of the contributions from freshmen Gabe Kalscheur and Daniel Oturu, the Gophers’ veterans struggled. It has become a trend for Gophers’ guard Amir Coffey, who scored just eight points on 4-for-12 shooting in Sunday’s loss. Early on, it looked like he might put together a strong performance.
Coffey knocked down his first two shots, including a tough step-back jumper in the lane. He had 29 points in the Gopher’s 88-70 win over Rutgers in early January. Despite an encouraging start, Coffey couldn’t get any quality looks or hit open shots.
In the past five Minnesota losses, Coffey has shot 15-for-53 (28%) and is averaging just 7.4 points per game. Conversely, during the Gophers’ seven Big Ten wins, he is a combined 47-for-94 (50%) and is averaging 21.7 points per game. Without consistent contributions from Coffey, this team has been unable to convert with victories.
Early on, Rutgers went on an 11-0 run, sparked by a Peter Kiss corner three-pointer. In one sequence, the Gophers missed a layup, committed a turnover and surrendered a wide-open jumper. These are the type of inconsistent stretches Minnesota has faced all season. Over the same span, the Gophers went 1-for-9 from the floor, including five missed field goals. Many of them came right around the basket as low-post players struggled with all of Rutgers’ length and physicality. Jordan Murphy was beat up in the post and had just nine points on 3-for-10 shooting.
This was a similar theme in the previous matchup between these two teams. Minnesota won 88-70 in early January, but Rutgers was without leading scorer Eugene Omoruyi. He had 14 points and added more physicality to the Scarlet Knights’ low-post game. Daniel Oturu handled the matchup better, finishing 7-for-10 from the floor and scoring 20 points. However, the Gophers couldn’t string together second half possessions without turnovers. Minnesota was reckless with the basketball and left points at the free throw line. They were 50 percent at the stripe, including two key misses by Jordan Murphy that would have tied the game at 66 with five seconds remaining.
Early in the second half, the Gophers had a nine-point lead. Much of this was due to their team defense. They forced difficult shots, deflections and a shot clock violation in the first seven minutes. Dupree McBrayer, Gabe Kalscheur and Amir Coffey were active, pressuring the ball and creating deflections. When the offense started to become sloppy, Rutgers was getting easier baskets and Minnesota wasn’t managing to get on the run.
One of the main reasons Minnesota kept this game close was due to the sharp shooting of freshman Gabe Kalscheur. He knocked down all six of his three-pointers and benefited from sound ball movement in the first half. Minnesota also managed to get on the run and deliver quality passes in transition. When the Gophers’ offense was successful, it was because they were spacing the floor. This started by attacking off the dribble and designing plays to use Gabe Kalscheur’s shooting ability. Many of the successful offensive sets came when Richard Pitino was drawing up sets out of timeouts.
When Minnesota was trying to run their offense in the second half, they reverted back to poor habits that have plagued them this year. The Gophers were trying to dribble out of poor situations and struggled to handle the ball in traffic. Many of these errors were the result of below average spacing and a lack of coherent offense. Out of control dribbling and a contested look or turnover are persistent themes when the Gophers enter offensive lulls.
Minnesota committed five turnovers in the first 3:45 of the second half, including three in a row. During this sequence, Daniel Oturu and Gabe Kalscheur were on the bench. Richard Pitino sat Oturu early in the half with just one foul, and Minnesota lost physicality in the post. When both of these players returned, the entire complexion of the game changed. Moments after entering, Kalscheur drilled a three-pointer and stole the basketball for a tough transition finish. He was dominant during stretches of Sunday evening’s game and stepped up when other veterans continued to struggle. He simply didn’t receive enough help as nobody else could hit a shot or take care of the basketball. Not only that, but Kalscheur was receiving less designed looks during the final 20 minutes. He also had four fouls, which impacted his ability to be aggressive on defense.
Both teams traded punches throughout the night and struggled to sustain offensive success. Minnesota finally used a three-pointer by Dupree McBrayer and a tough, physical drive by Jordan Murphy to claim a five-point lead with 4:40 remaining. Much of this resulted from Minnesota’s ability to space the floor better. The problem: Minnesota just can’t sustain any ball movement or quality offensive sets for a complete game.
A lack of discipline and ability to execute the small details has made a difference in tight road games this season, including Sunday night’s loss at Rutgers.
Minnesota committed nine second half turnovers and the Scarlet Knights capitalized with 14 points off those mistakes. The tide turned during a three-minute sequence out of halftime, which featured five Minnesota turnovers. The Gophers had opportunities at the end to steal a victory, but inconsistent offense was the difference.
Minnesota is now 1-7 on the road in Big Ten play and has dropped six of its last seven games. With this loss, the team’s NCAA Tournament resume takes a significant hit.
Outside of the contributions from freshmen Gabe Kalscheur and Daniel Oturu, the Gophers’ veterans struggled. It has become a trend for Gophers’ guard Amir Coffey, who scored just eight points on 4-for-12 shooting in Sunday’s loss. Early on, it looked like he might put together a strong performance.
Coffey knocked down his first two shots, including a tough step-back jumper in the lane. He had 29 points in the Gopher’s 88-70 win over Rutgers in early January. Despite an encouraging start, Coffey couldn’t get any quality looks or hit open shots.
In the past five Minnesota losses, Coffey has shot 15-for-53 (28%) and is averaging just 7.4 points per game. Conversely, during the Gophers’ seven Big Ten wins, he is a combined 47-for-94 (50%) and is averaging 21.7 points per game. Without consistent contributions from Coffey, this team has been unable to convert with victories.
Early on, Rutgers went on an 11-0 run, sparked by a Peter Kiss corner three-pointer. In one sequence, the Gophers missed a layup, committed a turnover and surrendered a wide-open jumper. These are the type of inconsistent stretches Minnesota has faced all season. Over the same span, the Gophers went 1-for-9 from the floor, including five missed field goals. Many of them came right around the basket as low-post players struggled with all of Rutgers’ length and physicality. Jordan Murphy was beat up in the post and had just nine points on 3-for-10 shooting.
This was a similar theme in the previous matchup between these two teams. Minnesota won 88-70 in early January, but Rutgers was without leading scorer Eugene Omoruyi. He had 14 points and added more physicality to the Scarlet Knights’ low-post game. Daniel Oturu handled the matchup better, finishing 7-for-10 from the floor and scoring 20 points. However, the Gophers couldn’t string together second half possessions without turnovers. Minnesota was reckless with the basketball and left points at the free throw line. They were 50 percent at the stripe, including two key misses by Jordan Murphy that would have tied the game at 66 with five seconds remaining.
Early in the second half, the Gophers had a nine-point lead. Much of this was due to their team defense. They forced difficult shots, deflections and a shot clock violation in the first seven minutes. Dupree McBrayer, Gabe Kalscheur and Amir Coffey were active, pressuring the ball and creating deflections. When the offense started to become sloppy, Rutgers was getting easier baskets and Minnesota wasn’t managing to get on the run.
One of the main reasons Minnesota kept this game close was due to the sharp shooting of freshman Gabe Kalscheur. He knocked down all six of his three-pointers and benefited from sound ball movement in the first half. Minnesota also managed to get on the run and deliver quality passes in transition. When the Gophers’ offense was successful, it was because they were spacing the floor. This started by attacking off the dribble and designing plays to use Gabe Kalscheur’s shooting ability. Many of the successful offensive sets came when Richard Pitino was drawing up sets out of timeouts.
When Minnesota was trying to run their offense in the second half, they reverted back to poor habits that have plagued them this year. The Gophers were trying to dribble out of poor situations and struggled to handle the ball in traffic. Many of these errors were the result of below average spacing and a lack of coherent offense. Out of control dribbling and a contested look or turnover are persistent themes when the Gophers enter offensive lulls.
Minnesota committed five turnovers in the first 3:45 of the second half, including three in a row. During this sequence, Daniel Oturu and Gabe Kalscheur were on the bench. Richard Pitino sat Oturu early in the half with just one foul, and Minnesota lost physicality in the post. When both of these players returned, the entire complexion of the game changed. Moments after entering, Kalscheur drilled a three-pointer and stole the basketball for a tough transition finish. He was dominant during stretches of Sunday evening’s game and stepped up when other veterans continued to struggle. He simply didn’t receive enough help as nobody else could hit a shot or take care of the basketball. Not only that, but Kalscheur was receiving less designed looks during the final 20 minutes. He also had four fouls, which impacted his ability to be aggressive on defense.
Both teams traded punches throughout the night and struggled to sustain offensive success. Minnesota finally used a three-pointer by Dupree McBrayer and a tough, physical drive by Jordan Murphy to claim a five-point lead with 4:40 remaining. Much of this resulted from Minnesota’s ability to space the floor better. The problem: Minnesota just can’t sustain any ball movement or quality offensive sets for a complete game.
A lack of discipline and ability to execute the small details has made a difference in tight road games this season, including Sunday night’s loss at Rutgers.