Don’t expect Minnesota to blink
today in Assembly Hall.
The Indiana Hoosiers sure don’t.
“They won’t be afraid of the
atmosphere,” forward Cody Zeller said. “We play well at home, but they beat us
here last year. There won’t be too much of an advantage for us.”
Yes, Minnesota won at Assembly
Hall 77-74 last year. Yes, the No. 8 Gophers are much better this season (see
the blowout win at No. 12 Illinois as the biggest example).
Still, Zeller might be
understating things a little. Assembly Hall will be packed and loud, especially
now that the students are back from their holiday break. At the moment, there
might not be a more intimidating arena in America.
This is IU’s first Big Ten home
game and if it took two weeks to arrive, who cares.
The No. 5 Hoosiers (14-1 overall,
2-0 in the Big Ten) and the Gophers (15-1, 3-0) should provide plenty of action
and drama. So much so that Tom Crean nearly wishes he were a fan instead of a
coach.
Nearly.
“It would be a great game to watch,”
he said, “but I have to participate in it.”
Participation brings plenty to
worry about. Minnesota has a tough, veteran squad that only has two freshmen on
the roster and only one who plays, guard Wally Ellenson.
The Gophers are anchored by
24-year-old power forward Trevor Mbakwe, who started his college career at
Marquette (with Crean as the coach) before transferring to Minnesota.
The 6-8, 245-pound Mbakwe is one
of the most physically imposing players in the country. He’s rounding into form
after missing most of last season with a knee injury. He averages 9.3 points
and 7.9 rebounds, and is coming off a 19-point, 11-rebound effort at Illinois.
For comparision, a fully healthy Mbakwe averaged 13.9 points
and 10.5 rebounds as a sophomore and 14.0 points and 9.1 rebounds as a junior.
“There’s no doubt Trevor makes a
huge difference in their lineup,” Crean said.
Combine that difference with the
improvement in players such as guards Andre Hollins (13.7 points, 3.7 assists),
Joe Coleman (10.9 points, 4.2 rebounds) and Austin Hollins (10.8 points, 3.4
rebounds), plus forward Rodney Williams (12.6 points, 5.9 rebounds) and you
have a powerhouse team capable of beating No. 22 Michigan State and Illinois by
double digits.
“Anybody who’s known them and
followed their team knew that was going to happen,” Crean said. “Now take what
Trevor is doing, and how improved they are all, the commitment they have to the
rebounding. They are really good in helping each other on defense. They’ve
grown as a team. They play so hard.
We know what we’re in for. That
was the only (home) loss we had a year ago. We’ve had some great battles with
them. We’re well aware.”
Awareness starts with Zeller, who
will likely have to deal the Mbakwe.
“They’ll be one of the toughest
games we’ve had all year,” Zeller said. “Look at the teams they’ve beaten
already. They’ve proven themselves that they’re a very tough team. They’ve got
a lot of guys who can hurt you in a lot of ways. We’ve got our work cut out for
us.”
To reinforce that, Crean had a
tape of last year’s Minnesota game playing in the locker room.
“This is a huge game,” guard
Victor Oladipo said. “It’s big for us. It’s big for them. You’ve got two top-10
teams and it’s in the Big Ten. It doesn’t get any more high level than this.”
Well before the season Crean was
talking up Minnesota’s prospects. Losing Mbakwe cost the Gophers a NCAA tourney
opportunity last year, but they did finish as the NIT runner-up, with plenty of
guys getting plenty of experience.
This year is the payoff.
“It’s not like I’m a prophet,”
Crean said about his Minnesota optimisim, “but Trevor is too good. The
improvement of those guys. The confidence the Hollins guys have. The way Rodney
Williams has continued to develop. Joe Colemen is tough, aggressive, athletic.
They’re a deep team. They have an understanding of what it takes to win at a
high level. They’ve been through some things.”
Minnesota plays 12 guys eight
minutes a game and more. IU has 11.
“We’ll both try to play deep, play
good defense and get out in transition,” Crean said. “It will come down to shot
selecton, rebounding and decision making.
“They lead the league in steals
(154 total, 22 in three games). We want to create deflections. They want to get
steals.”
In other words, the Gophers ain’t
blinking.
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