Read my full game story on Minnesota's 64-59 win at Iowa here.

Three quick observations after the Gophers' first road win of the year:

Wow, we're back here. After an 0-5 start, and then a 1-6 start, Minnesota now somehow has the exact same record as it did through 12 conference games a year ago, when we were talking about the NCAA tournament -- remember? This year couldn't feel more different -- and let's be honest, it is. The Gophers' RPI is lower and they don't have the same signature wins they did last year at this point. Nonetheless, it's been an unexpected and fairly impressive comeback. The Gophers have now won three straight and four of the last five, while knocking that no-win road monkey off their back, at least for a couple more days. Now if only they can stop torturing me on deadline with all these close games...
Defense will be the difference. I'll be honest. Although coach Richard Pitino has made it clear he wants defense to be the identity of his team, I thought, through a high-flying non-conference schedule, that this team's offense would still mostly determine wins and losses. After all, the Gophers were ranked last in defensive efficiency in the league a year ago. In Big Ten play this year, for the most part, the story couldn't be more different. In the last three games, it's been Minnesota's pressure, mix of the zone and man to man in the half court and the ability to make big stops that has igniting the winning streak. In that span, Minnesota has turned its opponents over 59 times. The Gophers are now comfortable ranked fifth according to Ken Pomeroy's metrics. That's a pretty notable jump.

Expect Buggs to stay a while. Pitino surprised us by throwing redshirt sophomore Charles Buggs -- a raw player expected to barely crack the rotation before the season began -- in the starting lineup for Carlos Morris. It's the second time this season the coach has sat Morris and it's not hard to see why. The JUCO transfer appears to give up on plays on defense and has proven to be far too trigger-happy on offense. Some of this does have to do with Buggs -- as Minnesota's depth has dwindled, Buggs has been forced to take a bigger role and he's made improvements. But my guess is as long as Morris isn't following the defensive script, his minutes will continue to fall.