Round 2 of the NIT against the Sycamores
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Terre Haute
1:00 PM
ESPN2
Indiana St
Indiana State
Record: 29-6
KenPom Rank: 43
The NIT doesn’t get any easier and the Gophers are facing a team that is arguably the best team ever left out of the NCAA Tournament. The Sycamores are a really good team who unfortunately fell to Drake in the Missouri Valley tournament.
Can the Gophers go on the road again and get a win to move on to the NIT quarterfinals?
KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN
Going to need to score a lot of points – Indiana State is a very good scoring team. They make threes at a high rate and Robert Avila dominates the paint. This team is #1 in the country in effective FG% and scored 102 points in their opening round win over SMU. The Gophers are going to have to keep up offensively (and maybe find a way to slow down the Sycarmores).
Slow down Avila – The 6’10” big man for ISU is a stud who averages 17.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game. The matchup with Avila and Pharrel Payne is going to be a good one. They have 2 other scorers who are scoring over 16 ppg, but the ball runs through Avila. This one is going to be on Payne.
Two halves – If Minnesota decides to play a stinker half, they will get too far behind and it will be really difficult to come back against this offense.
PREDICTION
With the way we have been playing defense over the last month, this one is going to be a real struggle. The Sycamores may end up hitting 100 again this afternoon. On paper, I cannot see a Gopher win.
This team is capable of getting another win today and hopefully they continue play with some passion and have fun playing together.
Minnesota – 81
Indiana State – 84