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When the Gophers take the court against against No. 2 Michigan State on Saturday night, a familiar opponent will be standing across from them. This time, it won’t be for an ordinary Big Ten game, but an NCAA Tournament matchup.
Minnesota dropped its last matchup to Michigan State in early February, 79-55. Since then, both teams have overcome injuries and inconsistent performances. Head coach Richard Pitino understands how much has changed in the past two months.
“[For us], more than anything playing in the middle of the Big Ten versus the NCAA Tournament, probably mentally these guys are more locked in and feeling great about where they are and also understanding the challenges that lie ahead,” Pitino said during Friday’s press conference.
When they square off with Tom Izzo’s team, the Gophers will need to defend Matt McQuaid in the post, handle the dribble penetration of Cassius Winston and match Nick Ward’s intensity inside. During the last matchup in February, Ward had 22 points and and McQuaid drilled four three-pointers.
“They’ve got a lot of depth. Unfortunately, they’ve dealt with some injuries. But they’re going to be who Michigan State is. The bigs are going to run the court, duck you in early, pound the glass. They’re relentless, you know, pound the glass,” Pitino said during Friday’s press conference.
Guard Amir Coffey noticed how much Michigan State’s team defense caused headaches for the Gophers in the first matchup. They struggled to rebound, were inefficient offensively and couldn’t get in transition. Those are areas the senior guard said the team will continue to emphasize as they prepare for Saturday’s game.
“I thought they were connected on the defensive end. They did well with the ball defense and guarding smash actions pretty well. So they were doing things like jumping to the ball and helping the helper,” Coffey said. “They just played solid that game. And I was off that night as well. So they just did a good job the first time.”
Minnesota has clearly improved since the last time they met Michigan State, especially on the defensive end. In the team’s most impressive wins, including Thursday’s NCAA Tournament victory over Louisville, they’ve played lock-down defense and broken teams down in transition.
“Louisville has got a terrific defense and offensively I thought we executed very well. We rebounded the ball well. It all starts with our defense,” Pitino said. “If we can defend, we can rebound and it allows us to get out on the break. That’s been the ingredient for us all year.”
From Izzo’s perspective
From afar, Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo watched Richard Pitino overcome adversity to get his team into the Round of 32. Whether it was injuries or inconsistent stretches, the Gophers have reached this point under Pitino’s leadership.
“I’m excited for Richard because he went through hell in the early part of the Big Ten season with some injuries of his own and he got that team back playing and they’re playing as good as anybody in the league and that was proven in the Big Ten Tournament,” Izzo said. “I have watched his career because it’s not easy to do what he did at his age and kind of go through the tough times of the job, but he’s survived them and I think that’s the greatest part. He’s not only survived them, but he’s got the team playing the best its playing.
Izzo is searching for a way to slow a surging Minnesota team with so many threats. The head coach will be developing a plan to slow Minnesota’s leading scorer, Amir Coffey, a player Izzo recruited.
“Unfortunately for us, [Coffey] might be playing at the best level. It’s great to go against players that you admire and a young coach who’s coming into it and setting the standards that he’s set coming off the canvas like they did early on when they struggled a little bit early on and now playing their best basketball. So hats off to [Pitino], too,” Izzo said.
Outside of Coffey, Jordan Murphy, Minnesota’s all-time leading rebounder, presents a challenge because of his intensity on the glass. Murphy is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game and ranks second nationally in double-doubles. Michigan State’s head coach wishes he had Murphy on his own roster.
“God, he’s a rebounding machine, you know and I love rebounders. Every time we play him, at the end of the game, I guess I secretively would be trying to get him to transfer immediately because I love the kid. He’s humble, he’s got no ego, he doesn’t talk it, he just does it. Who doesn’t love a kid like that?” Izzo said.
Since the two teams met last, Izzo has noticed the improvements Murphy has made on the offensive end, including how he shoots the basketball. Those changes have made Minnesota a major threat in recent games.
“What [Murphy’s] done a better job of is putting the ball on the floor a lot better. He never used to be able to shoot the ball over his left shoulder. He was a right hander who shot it over his right shoulder, which was weird. I think he’s developing his game,” Izzo said. “I think Richard and he both deserve credit for that. But he is a lot different and I think a better player than the one we faced a month and a half, two months ago, whatever it was.”
Murphy was dealing with back spasms during Thursday’s win over Louisville and was held out of Thursday’s closed practice to receive treatment. Head coach Richard Pitino isn’t worried about his availability, but noticed the impact this injury had on the senior forward.
“Jordan I think has improved, he was struggling, he was kind of laboring through that second half. So we got a lot of treatment for him. We didn’t really go full go today in practice by any means, but we held him out,” Pitino said. “I would anticipate after knowing Jordan the way that I’ve known him now for four years, I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play.”
In addition to Murphy, senior big-man Matz Stockman has missed the past two games with a concussion and is working through the concussion protocol. Pitino said Stockman remains day-to-day and didn’t have any updates on his current status.
A Challenge Awaits
When Pitino takes the court for Saturday’s game, he knows a big challenge is on the horizon. With a Hall of Fame coach manning the opposite bench, he has to prepare for every wrinkle thrown his way. During the six years Pitino has coached against Izzo, he has studied the intricacies of his coaching style.
“Those players are lucky to play for him. Every time I coach against him, I learn something from him, so I have 1,000% respect for him more than any other coach I’ve ever faced,” Pitino said.
“I’ve never seen a group of players that play harder, respect and love more than Coach Izzo. He’s going to be hard on them, but whenever you watch them play, every single player runs off the court, when he talks to them, arm around these. He’s tough on them. He should be tough on them. He’s in the Hall of Fame.”
The respect is mutual from Izzo, who has watched Pitino help Minnesota earn its second NCAA Tournament win since 1991. He remembers the days he coached against Richard’s father, Rick. Now, he’ll meet his son in the NCAA Tournament and knows he’ll need to be ready for a confident Gophers team.
“I thought it was a big win for them yesterday. I know how good Louisville is. We played against them and I thought pretty much Minnesota dominated them, definitely over half the game,” Izzo said. “[Pitino’s] got the team playing the best its playing.”
For more from the press conferences, including video: http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/showthread.php?87803-Pitino-Coffey-McBrayer-Izzo-Press-Conferences-Richard-Winning-is-what-sells-your&fbclid=IwAR12qu2EeVuP2zf_M_fb0jn5l-AVuuWx5TdKtZ1W2sAP9JovktgdQcKhDnU
Minnesota dropped its last matchup to Michigan State in early February, 79-55. Since then, both teams have overcome injuries and inconsistent performances. Head coach Richard Pitino understands how much has changed in the past two months.
“[For us], more than anything playing in the middle of the Big Ten versus the NCAA Tournament, probably mentally these guys are more locked in and feeling great about where they are and also understanding the challenges that lie ahead,” Pitino said during Friday’s press conference.
When they square off with Tom Izzo’s team, the Gophers will need to defend Matt McQuaid in the post, handle the dribble penetration of Cassius Winston and match Nick Ward’s intensity inside. During the last matchup in February, Ward had 22 points and and McQuaid drilled four three-pointers.
“They’ve got a lot of depth. Unfortunately, they’ve dealt with some injuries. But they’re going to be who Michigan State is. The bigs are going to run the court, duck you in early, pound the glass. They’re relentless, you know, pound the glass,” Pitino said during Friday’s press conference.
Guard Amir Coffey noticed how much Michigan State’s team defense caused headaches for the Gophers in the first matchup. They struggled to rebound, were inefficient offensively and couldn’t get in transition. Those are areas the senior guard said the team will continue to emphasize as they prepare for Saturday’s game.
“I thought they were connected on the defensive end. They did well with the ball defense and guarding smash actions pretty well. So they were doing things like jumping to the ball and helping the helper,” Coffey said. “They just played solid that game. And I was off that night as well. So they just did a good job the first time.”
Minnesota has clearly improved since the last time they met Michigan State, especially on the defensive end. In the team’s most impressive wins, including Thursday’s NCAA Tournament victory over Louisville, they’ve played lock-down defense and broken teams down in transition.
“Louisville has got a terrific defense and offensively I thought we executed very well. We rebounded the ball well. It all starts with our defense,” Pitino said. “If we can defend, we can rebound and it allows us to get out on the break. That’s been the ingredient for us all year.”
From Izzo’s perspective
From afar, Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo watched Richard Pitino overcome adversity to get his team into the Round of 32. Whether it was injuries or inconsistent stretches, the Gophers have reached this point under Pitino’s leadership.
“I’m excited for Richard because he went through hell in the early part of the Big Ten season with some injuries of his own and he got that team back playing and they’re playing as good as anybody in the league and that was proven in the Big Ten Tournament,” Izzo said. “I have watched his career because it’s not easy to do what he did at his age and kind of go through the tough times of the job, but he’s survived them and I think that’s the greatest part. He’s not only survived them, but he’s got the team playing the best its playing.
Izzo is searching for a way to slow a surging Minnesota team with so many threats. The head coach will be developing a plan to slow Minnesota’s leading scorer, Amir Coffey, a player Izzo recruited.
“Unfortunately for us, [Coffey] might be playing at the best level. It’s great to go against players that you admire and a young coach who’s coming into it and setting the standards that he’s set coming off the canvas like they did early on when they struggled a little bit early on and now playing their best basketball. So hats off to [Pitino], too,” Izzo said.
Outside of Coffey, Jordan Murphy, Minnesota’s all-time leading rebounder, presents a challenge because of his intensity on the glass. Murphy is averaging 11.3 rebounds per game and ranks second nationally in double-doubles. Michigan State’s head coach wishes he had Murphy on his own roster.
“God, he’s a rebounding machine, you know and I love rebounders. Every time we play him, at the end of the game, I guess I secretively would be trying to get him to transfer immediately because I love the kid. He’s humble, he’s got no ego, he doesn’t talk it, he just does it. Who doesn’t love a kid like that?” Izzo said.
Since the two teams met last, Izzo has noticed the improvements Murphy has made on the offensive end, including how he shoots the basketball. Those changes have made Minnesota a major threat in recent games.
“What [Murphy’s] done a better job of is putting the ball on the floor a lot better. He never used to be able to shoot the ball over his left shoulder. He was a right hander who shot it over his right shoulder, which was weird. I think he’s developing his game,” Izzo said. “I think Richard and he both deserve credit for that. But he is a lot different and I think a better player than the one we faced a month and a half, two months ago, whatever it was.”
Murphy was dealing with back spasms during Thursday’s win over Louisville and was held out of Thursday’s closed practice to receive treatment. Head coach Richard Pitino isn’t worried about his availability, but noticed the impact this injury had on the senior forward.
“Jordan I think has improved, he was struggling, he was kind of laboring through that second half. So we got a lot of treatment for him. We didn’t really go full go today in practice by any means, but we held him out,” Pitino said. “I would anticipate after knowing Jordan the way that I’ve known him now for four years, I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t play.”
In addition to Murphy, senior big-man Matz Stockman has missed the past two games with a concussion and is working through the concussion protocol. Pitino said Stockman remains day-to-day and didn’t have any updates on his current status.
A Challenge Awaits
When Pitino takes the court for Saturday’s game, he knows a big challenge is on the horizon. With a Hall of Fame coach manning the opposite bench, he has to prepare for every wrinkle thrown his way. During the six years Pitino has coached against Izzo, he has studied the intricacies of his coaching style.
“Those players are lucky to play for him. Every time I coach against him, I learn something from him, so I have 1,000% respect for him more than any other coach I’ve ever faced,” Pitino said.
“I’ve never seen a group of players that play harder, respect and love more than Coach Izzo. He’s going to be hard on them, but whenever you watch them play, every single player runs off the court, when he talks to them, arm around these. He’s tough on them. He should be tough on them. He’s in the Hall of Fame.”
The respect is mutual from Izzo, who has watched Pitino help Minnesota earn its second NCAA Tournament win since 1991. He remembers the days he coached against Richard’s father, Rick. Now, he’ll meet his son in the NCAA Tournament and knows he’ll need to be ready for a confident Gophers team.
“I thought it was a big win for them yesterday. I know how good Louisville is. We played against them and I thought pretty much Minnesota dominated them, definitely over half the game,” Izzo said. “[Pitino’s] got the team playing the best its playing.”
For more from the press conferences, including video: http://www.forums.gopherhole.com/boards/showthread.php?87803-Pitino-Coffey-McBrayer-Izzo-Press-Conferences-Richard-Winning-is-what-sells-your&fbclid=IwAR12qu2EeVuP2zf_M_fb0jn5l-AVuuWx5TdKtZ1W2sAP9JovktgdQcKhDnU
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