GOPHERS MEN'S HOOPS at INDIANA
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
Frontcourt rotation – In the second half of Sunday's 71-69 loss at Wisconsin, freshman Isaiah Ihnen started in place of senior Alihan Demir, who has been struggling offensively for several games. Was that a sign of things to come Wednesday? Ihnen, a former four-star recruit, has seen his playing time increase after not being part of the rotation earlier in Big Ten play. He finished with six points and a career-best 10 rebounds in 24 minutes against the Badgers. Demir finished with just two points on 1-for-4 shooting and four rebounds in 15 minutes. It was the 12th straight game for Demir failing to score in double figures. He's shooting 31.4 percent from the field during that stretch, including a current streak of 20 straight misses from three-point range (dating back to Jan. 15 against Penn State). Is it time to tweak the starting lineup alongside sophomore standout Daniel Oturu? At this point it probably doesn't make a difference who starts. Ihnen finished Sunday's game, but he also showed his inexperience with a defensive mistake when Wisconsin's Aleem Ford cut backdoor for a dunk with 30 seconds left. Still, Ihnen, Oturu and Tre' Williams were the only players finishing positive in the plus-minus category. Ihnen was the only frontcourt player to play more than four minutes against the Badgers as well. Jarvis Omersa and Michael Hurt had fewer than nine minutes combined. Does that same rotation continue against the Hoosiers?
Second chance points – The Gophers recorded one of the most bizarre stat lines in college basketball this season in the 68-56 loss Feb. 19 against Indiana at Williams Arena. They grabbed 13 offensive rebounds, but they had no second chance points to show for it. Head scratcher, right. There were several factors that led to arguably the most embarrassing home loss of the season. That was definitely the one that jumps out after scanning the box score. So, what happens in the rematch Wednesday at Assembly Hall? Well, Richard Pitino's team has been much better turning offensive boards into points since last playing the Hoosiers. They had 16 second chance points on 12 offensive rebounds in a 83-57 win at Northwestern. They had 12 second chance points on 12 offensive boards in a 74-73 loss last week vs. Maryland. They had 13 second chance points on 12 offensive boards in a 71-69 loss Sunday at Wisconsin. In the last three games, Minnesota has outgained opponents 41-36 in second chance points combined, but Maryland was the only team that finished with the advantage in the game (18-12). Oturu is averaging 25.3 points and 11.7 rebounds in the last three games, which is partly from crashing the glass offensively (nine offensive rebounds in three games). Indiana has lost two games in a row with both opponents (Purdue and Illinois) having the edge in second chance points.
Containing Jackson-Davis – Part of limiting Indiana's freshman standout Trayce Jackson-Davis is making him foul and use up energy playing defense. He'll likely spend time matching up with Oturu, who didn't fair well in their 1-on-1 battle the first time around. Oturu finished with 11 points on 5-for-15 shooting (his lowest scoring total in a Big Ten home game). He had 14 rebounds, but also shot just 1-for-4 from the foul line. Meanwhile, Jackson-Davis had 27 points on 11-for-15 shooting and 16 rebounds, both career-highs, including 17 points in the second half. No other starter scored in double figures for Indiana. Pitino didn't see that coming, neither did Minnesota's players. They'll be more prepared this time, but Jackson-Davis hasn't played nearly as well since the last meeting. The 6-9 former McDonald's All-American is averaging 10.3 points on 39.4 percent shooting in his last three games.
GAME INFO
Time: 6 p.m. CT, Wednesday. Where: Assembly Hall. Line: Minnesota 3.5-point underdog. Series: The Hoosiers hold the edge 67-96, including a 68-56 win in the last meeting on Feb. 19, 2020 at Williams Arena. TV: Big Ten Network. Online/Live video: BTNPlus. Radio: 100.3.
PROJECTED STARTERS
MINNESOTA GOPHERS (13-15, 7-11)
Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG
G – Marcus Carr 6-2 So. 15.7
G – Payton Willis 6-5 Jr. 8.9
G – Gabe Kalscheur 6-4 So. 11.2
F – Alihan Demir 6-9 Sr. 6.8
C – Daniel Oturu 6-10 So. 20.2
Key reserves – Tre' Williams, G, 6-5, Fr., 3.1 ppg; Jarvis Omersa, F, 6-7, So., 2.0 ppg; Michael Hurt, F, 6-7, Sr., 1.3 ppg; Isaiah Ihnen, F, 6-9, Fr., 2.7 ppg.
Coach: Richard Pitino 143-121 (8th season overall)
Notable: Freshman forward Isaiah Ihnen had six points and a career-high 10 rebounds Sunday at Wisconsin in 24 minutes off the bench. Ihnen returned from a wrist injury to score a career-best nine points on 3-for-7 shooting from three-point range the previous game in a loss against Maryland. The 6-9 German native missed the previous game at Northwestern after hurting his right wrist in practice. Ihnen came back even stronger with three three-pointers in the first half to help lead the Gophers to a 17-point lead against the Big Ten's top team. Ihnen had combined for 10 points and three blocks in losses to Indiana and Iowa that showed he was progressing ... Marcus Carr is five assists away from breaking the Gophers' single-season Big Ten assists record held by Ray Williams with 118 in 1976-77. The sophomore point guard already set the overall school single-season record for assists by reaching 182 in the Maryland loss.
INDIANA HOOSIERS (18-11, 8-10)
Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG
G – Rob Phinisee 6-1 So. 7.2
G – Ali Durham 6-4 Jr. 9.7
F – Justin Smith 6-7 Jr. 10.5
F – Trayce Jackson-Davis 6-9 Fr. 13.7
C – Joey Brunk 6-11 Jr. 6.9
Key reserves – Devonte Green, G, 6-3, Sr., 10.7 ppg; Jerome Hunter, G, 6-4, So., 4.0 ppg; De'Ron Davis, C, 6-10, Sr., 2.7 ppg; Race Thompson, F, 6-8, So., 3.6 ppg; Armaan Franklin, G, 6-4, Fr., 3.7 ppg.
Coach: Archie Miller 192-105 (9th season)
Notable: The Hoosiers are among ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi's "Last Four Byes" as of early Wednesday. They were comfortably in the NCAA tournament projections earlier in the season until suffering four straight losses, also five losses in six games before winning by 12 at Minnesota on Feb. 19. Entering Wednesday, Indiana has six Quad 1 wins (18th most nationally), four wins vs. top 25 teams (fourth most nationally), rank 38th by KenPom.com and 54th in the NET rankings … In the last meeting with the Gophers, redshirt sophomore Race Thompson had nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds against his home state program. Thompson, a former Armstrong star, is averaging 3.6 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.3 minutes off the bench this season.
Fuller's prediction (17-11 with picks): Indiana 67, Gophers 63.
