Minnesota
IU Basketball game day essentials: Indiana hosts Minnesota
Game Day Essentials:
Minnesota (12-3, 3-1) vs. Indiana (11-5, 3-2)
- Tip Time: 6:30 p.m. Eastern, Friday
- Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Ind.
- Television: FS1 (Lisa Byington and Stephen Bardo)
- Stream: Fox Sports
- IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
- Point Spread: Indiana is a 3.5 point favorite
- KenPom Projected Score: No. 93 Indiana 74 – No. 78 Minnesota 72
- Series: Indiana leads, 107-69.
Minnesota’s Ben Johnson
Ben Johnson is in his third year as head coach of Minnesota’s men’s basketball. Johnson was officially named the program’s 18th head coach in school history on March 22nd, 2021.
Johnson’s current stint at Minnesota is his first head coaching job in his career. Since joining the Golden Gophers, Johnson as accumulated a record of 34-41 (9-33). Johnson is nearing his career-best for wins in a season, needing just one more to tie his win total of his first season in 2021-22.
As an assistant, Johnson was known for his work in the recruitment process. As an assistant under Richard Pitino from 2013 to 2018, Johnson was involved in the recruiting of Amir Coffey, Daniel Oturu, and Jordan Murphy. The following three years at Xavier, Johnson would be involved in the recruitment of current standout Zach Freemantle.
Johnson is no stranger to Minnesota or the Big Ten due to his playing days. Johnson spent two seasons at Northwestern before deciding to transfer back to Minnesota to finish out his career. Johnson also had a very impressive high school career, as he was a two-time all-state selection at DeLaSalle High School and a two-time state champion.
Minnesota’s results and roster
| DATE | OPPONENT | LOCATION | TIME/RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6/2023 | Bethune-Cookman | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 80-60 |
| 11/10/2023 | UTSA | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 102-76 |
| 11/16/2023 | Missouri | Minneapolis, Minn. | L 68-70 |
| 11/18/2023 | South Carolina – Upstate | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 67-53 |
| 11/21/2023 | Arkansas – Pine Bluff | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 86-67 |
| 11/26/2023 | at San Francisco | San Francisco, CA. | L 58-76 |
| 11/30/2023 | New Orleans | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 97-64 |
| 12/3/2023 | at Ohio State | Columbus, OH | L 74-84 |
| 12/6/2023 | Nebraska | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 76-65 |
| 12/9/2023 | FGCU | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 77-57 |
| 12/12/2023 | IUPUI | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 101-65 |
| 12/21/2023 | Ball State | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 80-63 |
| 12/29/2023 | Maine | Minneapolis, Minn. | W 80-62 |
| 1/4/2024 | at Michigan | Ann Arbor, Mich. | W 73-71 |
| 1/7/2024 | Maryland | Iowa City, IA | W 75-72 |
Minnesota’s game notes (via Minnesota Athletics)
GARCIA NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN
Dawson Garcia was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team. It is Garcia’s first preseason honor of his career.
Last season with the Golden Gophers, Garcia led Minnesota in both scoring and rebounding when he averaged 15.3 points and 6.7 rebounds. His 15.3 ppg ranked 10th in league scoring, while his 6.7 rbp was 13th overall.
Garcia started in all 26 games he played, as he missed five due to a bone bruise injury from Jan. 22-Feb. 18. In those 26 games played, Garcia was Minnesota’s top scorer and rebounder in 10 contests. Garcia scored double-digit scoring in 22 of 26 games last year, including a career-high 28 points at Ohio State on Jan. 12, 2023. He also established a career-high in rebounds this season when he collected 15 against Nebraska on Jan. 7, 2023.
GARCIA NAMED KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR CENTER OF THE YEAR PRESEASON FINALIST
In addition to Preseason All-Big Ten, Dawson Garcia was named to the Preseason Top 20 Finalists for Basketball Hall of Fame’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. Garcia is one of four that hail from the Big Ten. Among that list is Purdue’s Zach Edey, Rutgers’ Clifford Omoruyi and Indiana’s Kel’el Ware.
CARRINGTON BACK WITH PROGRAM
The Michigan game marked the return of sophomore guard Braeden Carrington to the Gopher squad. Carrington took a leave of absence to focus on his mental health and missed three games with the team (IUPUI, Ball State and Maine). Carrington rejoined the team on Dec. 27 and returned to the court at Michigan for the first time since Dec. 11.
GOPHER RETURNERS
Minnesota returns seven individuals from last year’s team, including four who saw significant time during the 2022-23 season. Braeden Carrington, Dawson Garcia, Joshua Ola-Joseph and Pharrel Payne all saw over 20 minutes per game. The Gophers also return Will Ramberg and Jackson Purcell from the bench this season. In total, Minnesota returns 45.1 percent of minutes played and 53 percent of returning scoring from last year’s team. This ranks ninth in the Big Ten in returning minutes played and eighth in returning scoring from a year ago.
In addition, Minnesota returns Parker Fox and Isaiah Ihnen from back-to-back season ending knee injuries. It is Fox’s first appearance in a Gopher uniform and Ihnen’s first appearance since the 2020-21 season.
GOPHER NEWCOMERS
Minnesota welcomes three of its four backcourt in this newcomer class with the transfer additions of Elijah Hawkins and Mike Mitchell Jr., as well as freshman Cam Christie. Hawkins and Mitchell Jr. were starters at Howard and Pepperdine, while Christie was one of the top prospects out of Illinois last season.
Kadyn Betts skipped his senior year of high school (2022) and reclassified last season to be a redshirt freshman with the Gophers. Being in the Gopher gym for the season, allowed the 18-year-old to develop in the college game.
The Gophers also added Washington State transfer Jack Wilson. Standing at 6-11, 285 pounds, Wilson played football at WSU last season before joining the basketball program as a walk on. Prior to his collegiate football career, Wilson played college basketball at both Idaho and Oregon State.
Also joining the Gophers are freshmen Kris Keinys and Erick Reader. Keinys, from Klaiedia, Lithuania, joined the Gophers in August after signing this summer.
Minnesota’s KenPom notable numbers:
(out of 362 teams)
Tempo – No. 214 (Offense No. 231 / Defense No. 120)
Offensive Efficiency – No. 77
- Minnesota holds an effective field goal percentage of 56 percent (No. 21). They shoot the ball fairly well at 36.1 percent from three (No. 67), but they’re even better from two at 57.3 percent (No. 14).
- The Gophers share the ball very well, as they’re assist rate is one of the best in the country at 69.1 percent (No. 2).
- Minnesota struggles with converting from the stripe. They shoot 68.8 percent as a team (No. 269) and free throws only account for 16.7 percent of their point totals (No. 275).
- The Gophers are also fairly solid on the offensive glass, grabbing 34.4 percent of their misses (No. 45).
Defensive Efficiency – No. 91
- The Golden Gophers are holding teams to a 46.2 effective field goal percentage (No. 42). Opponents are shooting 33 percent from three (No. 157) and 44.9 percent from inside (No. 33).
- Minnesota’s defense tries to force opponents to go inside. Teams are shooting threes at a 29.4 percent rate (3pA/FGA) against their defense (No. 15). And when they go inside, teams are greeted with a 12 percent block rate (No. 53).
- Minnesota does a good job of keeping teams off the free throw line, with opposing FTA/FGA at just 26.6 percent (No. 47)
Extras
- Minnesota has played one of the easier schedules to play in D1 college basketball (No. 347).
- KenPom projects Minnesota to finish 18-13, with a 9-11 record in conference.
- Minnesota’s Elijah Hawkins has a 40.5 assist rate, which ranks 6th of all D1 players.
For complete coverage of IU basketball, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
Related
A rest area along Interstate 94 in Minnesota has been closed to trucks until about Independence Day to accommodate an almost $3 million improvement project.
The eastbound I-94 Enfield rest area between St. Cloud, Minnesota and the Twin Cities between Wright County Road 8 and Highway 25 is now closed to cars and commercial vehicles as crews resurface the entrance and exit ramps, and update nearby sidewalks.
According to KNSI, the full closure is just the first phase of the project. The rest area will reopen to passenger vehicles only the week of May 11th. During that time, the truck parking area will remain closed as crews repave the lot.
The truck parking lot will reopen the week of June 30th, right around Independence Day. During that time, the passenger vehicle area will be shut down to allow for the resurfacing of the lot. The Minnesota DOT expects the rest area to be fully open by late July. The entire project is expected to cost $2.9 million.
Drivers heading east on I-94 are encouraged to use the Big Spunk Lake rest area near Avon, or to drive a little farther out to the Elm Creek rest area.
Could a UCLA baseball team that’s perfect in Big Ten play get better?
Bruins coach John Savage thinks so, which is a frightening prospect for the rest of a seemingly overmatched conference.
While Savage’s top-ranked Bruins completed a three-game sweep of Minnesota on Sunday with a 5-2 victory at Jackie Robinson Stadium — stretching their Big Ten winning streak to 21 games — he said there’s more upside to be realized.
“Offensively, we just really couldn’t get a lot going,” Savage said after his team went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded six baserunners. “We just weren’t able to put a lot together, but when that pitching and defense shows up every day, it gives yourself a chance to win, and that’s kind of what we did all three games, really.”
Those elements were so good Sunday that they overshadowed Roman Martin’s solo homer in the third inning and Will Gasparino’s two-run shot in the sixth.
Bruins left fielder Dean West made three superb catches — two leaping and one diving — and four relievers combined to give up only one run in 4 ⅔ innings. Closer Easton Hawk needed only six pitches to record a 1-2-3 ninth inning while notching his third save in as many days.
Savage credited Minnesota’s pitching after the Golden Gophers (22-17 overall, 5-13 Big Ten) held the Bruins (36-3) to an average of five runs during the series and said many of his team’s offensive struggles were situational.
“We have very, very good offensive players — some of them are in … little ruts right now, but that’s OK,” Savage said. “These guys play a lot and get a lot of at-bats; there’s a lot of ups and downs.”
When it comes to UCLA’s conference record, it’s all been up.
What it means
UCLA’s sweep is further evidence that the Bruins aren’t getting complacent because of their record.
“This culture is really solid, and these guys truly believe in one another and they’re playing for the team,” Savage said. “We’re very fortunate to have this group, and so they love playing together, so there’s no complacency and there’s no reason to because we haven’t done anything; I mean, you’re 36-3, that’s great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting better and playing your best baseball the next 75 days.”
Turning point
Spotting a dominant team an early lead is never a good idea.
That’s what happened when the Bruins struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning.
West led off with a single to center field, took third on Roch Cholowsky’s double to left and scored on a balk. With one out, Martin hit an RBI infield single off the pitcher’s glove. UCLA was up 2-0, and the Golden Gophers could never catch up.
Did you see that?
Minnesota did not like it when Gasparino admired his home run by lingering in the batter’s box before commencing his trot around the bases.
There was consensus in both dugouts because Savage also didn’t care for it.
“I thought he probably stayed in the box a little too long for me,” Savage said. “That’s kind of not who we are, and they didn’t like that; I wouldn’t like that either, really.”
MVP
West saved multiple extra-base hits with his catches.
Which was his favorite?
“Probably the diving one,” West said. “I think that was the coolest one. I got to leave my feet and make a play on it.”
Up next
The Bruins will open a five-game stretch of nonconference games when they host Hawaii on Tuesday evening at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Of the many terrible roster decisions Minnesota sports teams have made over the past 30 years, the worst of the bunch may have been trading Randy Moss to the Raiders for the No. 7 pick in the draft and linebacker Napoleon Harris.
Why are we bringing up a trade that happened 21 years ago? Because the New York Giants traded defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence to the Cincinnati Bengals for the No. 10 pick in this week’s NFL Draft. It was the first time a non-quarterback has been traded for a top-10 pick since the infamous Moss trade in 2005.
Minnesota traded Moss for the Raiders’ first-round pick, Harris, and a seventh-round pick on March 2, 2005. The Vikings used the No. 7 pick on wide receiver Troy Williamson, who never panned out in the NFL. He had 24 catches for 372 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, 37 receptions for 457 yards and zero touchdowns in 2006, and just 18 catches for 240 yards and one touchdown in 2007.
Williams led the league with 11 dropped passes in 2006. Minnesota traded him to the Jacksonville Jaguars for a sixth-round pick after the 2007 season, where he played in 10 games over two seasons and totaled just eight catches for 64 yards. He was cut before the start of the 2010 season, and that was a wrap on the former South Carolina speedster’s NFL career.
Moss didn’t put up jaw-dropping numbers with the Raiders for two seasons, but he set an NFL record with 23 touchdown catches in 2007 with the New England Patriots. He caught 47 touchdowns in 48 regular-season games with the Patriots from 2007 to 2009.
Whether it was trading Moss to the Raiders, the Timberwolves sending Kevin Garnett to the Boston Celtics — or drafting Ricky Rubio AND Johnny Flynn over Steph Curry — or the Twins cutting David Ortiz and watching him become one of the greatest players in MLB history with the Boston Red Sox, Minnesota sports teams have a long history of making terrible decisions.
The Bengals, meanwhile, gave up the 10th overall pick for one of the best defensive tackles in the league. They’ll likely get great production from Lawrence, while the Giants are now under pressure to get the 10th pick right. New York also holds the No. 5 pick in Thursday’s first round of the draft.
By the way, the Vikings had two picks in the first round of the 2005 draft. After taking Williamson, they used the No. 18 pick on defensive end Erasmus James. He was just as much of a bust as Williams, playing in 23 games in three years with the Vikings. He had four sacks as a rookie, but injuries wiped out most of his 2006 and 2007 seasons before he was traded to Washington for a conditional seventh-round pick.
James was cut by Washington in December 2009, marking the end of his NFL career.
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