Recapping the last 2 Gopher hoops games and what is next
When we last updated the Gopher basketball team, they had blown a 20-point lead at Iowa and were moving on to face #2 Purdue in East Lafayette.
The Purdue game was a battle and despite the loss, the Gophers held a half-time lead before the Boilermakers clawed their way back and eventually held off the Gophers for a 84-76 win.
Another Big Ten battle of toughness and the Gophers did not back down against the Big Ten’s best team. Is this a moral victory? No, it was a loss. But the Gophers continue to take baby steps and are continually getting better throughout this season.
With a 2-game losing streak to their name, the Gophers came home to face a hot Rutgers team. The Scarlet Knights came to the Barn with a 4-game winning streak and playing the best defense in the Big Ten.
But Minnesota played a game where they seemingly controlled the game throughout. Down seven points in the 1st half, the Gophers tied it at the break and then cruised to an 11-point win. Their offensive efficiency of 1.18 points per possession was the largest Rutgers has given up all season.
So what is going well?
The Gophers are playing balanced and complimentary basketball. Dawson Garcia leads the way with 24 points in one game and then Elijah Hawkins leads the team with 16 points, 7 assists and throws in 6 rebounds in the next. Pharrel Payne gets a double-double against Rutgers after doing his best to slow down Zach Edey in the prior game. Braeden Carrington is still playing great defense but is now starting to knock down open threes, which is a HUGE boost to the Gopher offense.
They are just continuing to get measurably better throughout this season. Player by player you are seeing improvement and collectively it is paying off.
Perhaps the one guy who is struggling is Josh Ola-Joseph, who is seeing his playing time diminish. JOJ has started at various points throughout this season but has now seen his minutes drop from 20-25 minutes per game to under 10 per game since January. It appears to be mostly due to defensive struggles, but there is still time for him to get things figured out, earn Ben Johnson’s trust again and add more to what this team is currently doing.
While blowing two, 20-point leads is absolutely keeping them out of any NCAA Bubble conversation, I firmly believe that this team is playing like an NCAA Tournament team. Their resume isn’t strong enough, but their play on the court is as good as anybody who’s sneaking in as an at-large.
Up next?
Well, they have six games remaining with five of them being extremely winable. The trip to Illinois looks to be a bigger challenge next week. Immediately they host Ohio State on Thursday and then travel to Nebraska on Sunday.
Forget the NCAA Tournament for a minute, finishing 4-2 or even 5-1 over this final stretch would be huge. A winning Big Ten record is well within reach and seemingly unattainable just a few months ago.