Now the real fun can begin.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Minnesota Golden Gophers made it through the non-conference portion of the schedule with just one blemish on their record — a single-digit loss on the road against a good Florida State team. Their 82-75 win against the Arkansas State Red Wolves Friday night was the final test of fortitude leading up to the much-awaited Big Ten opener against Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans on Tuesday.
A season ago, the Big Ten season brought with it a sense of impending freefall. Now, the Gophers are suddenly itching to validate themselves. “We’re kind of excited to get there because this is our time to show what we’ve been working to show,” said transfer Akeem Springs. “We have a chance to prove those people wrong that we want to prove wrong.”
Akeem Springs and Dupree McBrayer on finishing off the non-conference schedule 12-1. pic.twitter.com/9dw4E6ZL0V
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) December 24, 2016
The 13-game stretch had its share of flat moments, to be fair. Minnesota waited until the final minutes to put away NJIT, struggled offensively against Southern Illinois and had a tough time in the second half with the Red Wolves on Friday. But in half-filled gyms against lower-echelon opponents, momentary letdowns are inevitable. The Gophers, to their credit, handled each adversarial situation with aplomb, winning every game they were expected to win — and maybe a few that they weren’t.
Minnesota wiped out an early deficit to take down UT-Arlington — a team that has since gone on to beat Texas and Saint Mary’s. They dominated Arkansas, who hasn’t lost another game all season. They erased a 13-point deficit to beat St. John’s, who defeated Syracuse by 33 at the Carrier Dome on Tuesday.
With four players averaging 10-plus points, and two more just over a point away, the Gophers’ are sharing the ball like a bunch of fifth-year seniors. It’s a group that, despite being inexperienced, can play with long stretches without betraying its youth. The starting five consists of one freshman, one transfer, two sophomores and a junior. The latter is the flourishing Nate Mason, the group’s elder statesman. He leads the team in 3-point percentage and assists, adding two 3s and seven helpers in Friday’s win. “I keep telling him, ‘Why not be one of the best guards in the Big 10?'” Pitino said.
Mason, who learned the ropes as a freshman underneath seasoned guards Andre Hollins and Deandre Mathieu, has crafted a well-blended skill set of unselfish passing and pinpoint jump-shooting. He’s a willing transition passer, an able shooter off the catch or the dribble and a scrappy defender on the perimeter. Not only is he spearheading the sharing-is-caring offensive approach, but he’s a key piece amidst a defensive renaissance. The Gophers have leaped to the front of the pack in the Big Ten in opponent’s shooting percentage (37.1 percent) after being 12th a season ago (45.1 pct). Defending the 3, they are second in the conference (28.5 pct), one of only two teams holding opponents to under 30 percent — this after being second worst in the Big Ten a year ago.
the Gophers’ are sharing the ball like a bunch of fifth-year seniors.
There’s a level of poise present that was missing in 2015-16. In potentially scary second halves against Vanderbilt, LIU-Brooklyn and, most recently, Arkansas State, the Gophers kept their heads when facing either hot-shooting foes or a cold-shooting night themselves. After failing to win a game last season that they trailed in the final five minutes, the Gophers seem to have a better handle on crunch time heading into conference play. “We’ve been pretty composed,” said Pitino. “For a young team to be that composed is pretty good. … We’ve made winning plays when we’ve needed to.”
It’s clear the young nucleus is primed to win. The question is: Can they win now?
“There’s times during the game where I look at our team and say, ‘Wow, we’re pretty good,'” said Pitino, “and then there’s times where I go, ‘Wow, we’re pretty young.’ We’ve got to get better.”
Richard Pitino addresses the 12-1 non-conference record and what’s brought his team to this point. pic.twitter.com/Q0oPaWQj6k
— Sam Ekstrom (@SamEkstrom) December 24, 2016
Five members of Minnesota’s nine-man rotation are freshmen or sophomores. When conference plays gets underway, freshman Eric Curry is going to be asked to defend older, savvier big men if Reggie Lynch gets in foul trouble, which will prove challenging. Nineteen-year-old Amir Coffey is going to need to rediscover his early scoring knack against athletic wing defenders. Youngster Michael Hurt has yet to find the shooting stroke that made him a potent high school marksmen; just 1 of 12 from 3 to begin his college career.
There is a plethora of youth being asked to grow up quickly, much like last year’s crop of recruits, who were thrown into the fire in a lost season. But being cast into the spotlight in a winning climate is a whole lot easier than in a losing one.
The 12-1 start has reignited interest in a woebegone program — an ironic ray of light for the U of M when juxtaposed against the Gophers’ football boycott in another Dinkytown locale.
Minnesota’s stock is rising. A win over Michigan State would get the masses to buy in.
