- Lineup
PG: Andre Hollins
SG: Julian Welch
SF: Austin Hollins
PF: Rodney Williams
C: Elliott Eliason
- The Gophers will be playing their first game this season without Trevor Mbakwe, who sustained a season-ending ACL tear in his right knee in Sunday's loss to Dayton.
- Ralph Sampson III will not play tonight due to continued tenderness in his turned left ankle.
- Austin Hollins has been dealing with a bone bruise on his knee and is still a little sore, but will play.
- Chris Halvorsen and Oto Osenieks were the first out of the gate and on the court tonight, getting extra shooting practice.
Tonight is a big test for the Gophers. Remember, there will be a lot of experimenting and relatively new looks against Virginia Tech, so things probably won't go smoothly 100 percent of the time. What coach Tubby Smith is looking for most tonight is an indication that a range of players have the capability to produce a little more without the best player on the court. Three things he is likely wants to see tonight: 1. Outside shooting. Can the Gophers be a perimeter team? They've hit 38 percent or more of their shots from behind the arc in three of the last four games. With the inside game now more suspect, the Gophers need that kind of showing more than ever. 2. Guarding the three. This has been a problem for the Gophers all season, but is particularly so now, when Mbakwe can't slow the game down with getting to the free throw line and a flood of three-pointers could bury them. 3. Quickness. Now is the time for the Gophers to take advantage of their athleticism. Their lineup will likely be significantly smaller going forward, and particularly tonight, with Ralph Sampson III out. Look for the Gophers to try to run, run, run. "It's part of life – that's a fact," Smith said. "Your best player is no longer with you – who probably could have been player of the year in the Big Ten and a Wooden candidate, he was a candidate for everybody's all American team. So that's a tough loss. But psychologically, I don't know there's much else you can do except look forward – you can't look back."
