5 themes from rough start to Gopher men's hoops season

BleedGopher

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per Mathew:

Here are the themes which have defined the season thus far:

1. Launching threes
This year’s Gophers rely on the three-point line like no team in recent memory. Through four games Minnesota has put up 117 threes, nearly 20% of last year’s total, placing them among the country’s most three-heavy teams and easily pacing the Big Ten.

2. Still struggling with free throws
It’s not all different, though. The Gophers still don’t get to the free throw line much, and when they do, still don’t make many. The team averages less than 15 attempts a night; only Carr and Oturu have more than six total attempts, and Kalscheur has zero. While there, they’re shooting just 59%, which ranks 312th nationally and seventh-worst among power-five teams.

3. Relying almost completely on starters
Tubby Smith’s five-man substitution patterns are a distant relic as the starters do basically everything, every night. Carr, Oturu, Willis, and Kalscheur average 33+ minutes and adding Demir, who has started 7 of 8 halves, starters account for nearly 90% of the scoring.


4. Daniel Oturu
As a freshman, Oturu was a player with a lot of potential. That potential has been realized. He’s averaging 19 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 3.5 blocks – good for third, first, and third, respectively, among all Big Ten players – and the offense is noticeably less fluid when he sits.

5. The new backcourt
Though two weeks, Carr and Willis have bounced between excellent all-around performances and unproductive, atrocious shooting nights.


Go Gophers!!
 


One more point - they played really good man to man defense against CMU (a team that averaged 100+ points) - they consistently cut off drives and when they didn’t Oturu was there to help.

The bench played better last night and FT shooting was improved a little. This team Relies on 3 point shooting. Unless they start driving To hoop they won’t be shooting many free throws.
 




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