Gophers at Providence (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
MURPHY'S ENCORE– When was the last time you saw a Gophers big man score 30-plus points in a game? You'd have to go back to current NBA journeymen Kris Humphries' one and only year in college at Minnesota in 2004. Humphries topped the 30-point mark twice, including with career-high 36 points at Indiana. Junior Jordan Murphy's 35-point performance in the 92-77 season-opening win against USC Upstate was 10 points over his previous career-high of 25 points against Iowa last season, but that was in a double-overtime win. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound power forward shot 13-for-22 from the field with all of his baskets near the rim, including five of the team's seven dunks. Murphy's 13 field goals were the most since Humphries went 13-for-20 from the field vs. Virginia in 2003. How will Murphy perform against double teams Monday at Providence? Center Reggie Lynch (15 points and 10 rebounds in the opener) could benefit from extra attention on his frontcourt mate. That is if Lynch can stay out of foul trouble.
GUARDS VS. ZONE– On paper, the Gophers have one of the best backcourts not just in the Big Ten but the country. But they had a disappointing season debut Friday. The Trojans decided to play a matchup zone to take away dribble penetration and force Minnesota's guards to beat them from the outside. It was the perfect game plan. The starting backcourt combined to shoot just 8-for-24 from the field. All-Big Ten preseason guards Nate Mason and Amir Coffey combined for just 19 points on 5-for-17 shooting. Coffey fouled out and had more turnovers (four) than assists (three) in 29 minutes. Talented freshman Isaiah Washington wasn't the answer off the bench with just four points on 1-for-9 shooting. Fellow freshman Jamir Harris and Dupree McBrayer softened the USC Upstate defense a bit. But Minnesota can expect more opponents to play zone moving forward, even if it's not part of their normal package. It will be interesting to see how Richard Pitino and his staff makes adjustments for Monday's game.
THREE-POINT DEFENSE– Pitino's defense was stingy on the perimeter last season holding opponents to shoot just 30.9 from three-point range. So how did USC Upstate drill 14 three-pointers in the opener last week? That was the second most by a U opponent in team history and the most since Illinois reached that same mark against Minnesota in 2016. Creighton, Concordia-St. Paul, Wisconsin-Green Bay and USC Upstate have shot a combined 39.6 percent from three in the last four games (44-for-111) against Minnesota, including exhibitions. That's a higher percentage than what opponents shot from beyond the arc (38.1) when Minnesota finished a program-worst 8-23 in 2015-16! This is basically the same 24-win NCAA tournament squad from a season ago minus one key player. Graduate transfer Akeem Springs was arguably the Gophers' top perimeter defender last season. But the Gophers are still capable of making up for his loss on D, right? I'll say this again, this CAN'T continue as a trend this season or losses will surely follow, starting with Monday night.
GAME INFO
Time: 5:30 p.m. CT, Monday. Where: Dunkin' Donuts Center. Line: Providence 3.5 points. Series: Minnesota is 2-0. Last meeting Gophers won 76-70 in NIT semifinals in 1993. TV: FS1. Online/Live video: Radio: 100.3 FM and 1130 AM
PROJECTED STARTERS
MINNESOTA (1-0)
Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG
G-Nate Mason 6-2 Sr. 11.0
G-Dupree McBrayer 6-5 Jr. 8.0
G-Amir Coffey 6-8 So. 8.0
F-Jordan Murphy 6-6 Jr. 35.0
C-Reggie Lynch 6-10 Sr. 15.0
Key reserves– Isaiah Washington, G, 6-1, Fr., 4.0 ppg; Davonte Fitzgerald, F, 6-8, Jr., 2.0 ppg; Bakary Konate, C, 6-11, Sr.; Michael Hurt, F, 6-7, So., 3.0 ppg; Jamir Harris, G, 6-1, Fr., 6.0 ppg
Coach: Richard Pitino 94-75 (6th season)
Notable: This is the earliest the Gophers are playing a true road game against a high-major nonconference opponent since winning at Iowa State in 2007-08. Team radio analyst Spencer Tollackson was a senior center on that team. In the last 10 years, Minnesota is 4-4 in nonconference true road games against high-major opponents, including 1-2 under Pitino (losses at St. John's in 2014 and Florida State in 2016 and win at Wake Forest in 2014).
Providence (1-0)
Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG
G-Kyron Cartwright 5-11 Sr. 10.0
G- Isaiah Jackson 6-6 Jr. 11.0
G- Alpha Diallo 6-7 So. 8.0
F- Rodney Bullock 6-8 Sr. 7.0
G-Kalif Young 6-9 So. 10.0
Key reserves– Jalen Lindsey, G, 6-7, Sr.; Maliek White, G, 6-3, So.; 13.0 ppg; Nate Watson, C, 6-10, Fr., 9.0 ppg; Makai Ashton-Langford, G, 6-3, Fr., 8.0 ppg; Drew Edwards, G, 6-4, So., 4.0 ppg; Dajour Dickens, C, 7-0, Fr., 2.0 ppg
Coach: Ed Cooley 216-149 (12th season)
Notable: Cooley has led Providence to school-record four straight NCAA tournament appearances, including three years with former Timberwolves guard Kris Dunn. Villanova, Xavier and Providence are the only three Big East teams that have been to the Big Dance the last four years. But the Friars are only 1-4 in those games, including last season's loss to USC in the First Four games.
Fuller's prediction (1-0 picks record): Gophers 80, Providence 76. These programs have played only twice before. And both times the Friars struggled stopping the Gophers' top player and guard Voshon Lenard losing in 89-82 in the Maui Invitational in 1991 and 76-70 in the NIT semifinals in 1993. I think there might be some history repeating itself Monday night with another talented Gophers guard having a big game to lead his team to victory. Could it be Nate Mason? The All-Big Ten first teamer from last season is a competitor and the point guard matchup with Cartwright probably has him motivated to bounce back from a poor performance in the opener. What about Isaiah Washington? He's got an intriguing matchup with a highly touted freshman guard in Makai Ashton-Langford. Murphy won't be able to carry the entire offensive load this time since Providence boasts one of the best and most physical frontlines in the Big East.
