If you were to point out the Gophers most consistent weakness this season it would probably be defending three-point shots. Game after game, the Gophers have watched solid stretches get neutralized by a couple of quick opponent shots from behind the arc. And despite the constant media and coaching critiques, the team hasn't been able to find a way to stop the damage.
Fans seem baffled. Have the Gophers simply been unlucky? Are they short on the talent or ability? Do they just not care?
In the first half against Appalachian State on Tuesday, the story was the same. Rodney Milum hit four threes before the break and the Gophers allowed the Mountaineers to make 60 percent of their attempts behind the arc.
But the Gophers are slowly looking more aggressive defending downtown, a modest improvement that showed in the second half, when Appalachian State was cut to just 27.3 percent from long distance. Essentially, it was a simple matter of doing a better job executing their defensive game plan.
"Coach wanted us to trail the staggered screens the whole game, but we didn't do a good job of that in the first half obviously," Rodney Williams said, adding that players did a much better job of fighting through to challenge shooters in the second half.
It's a problem Smith has been trying to address all season, with only modest success thus far. The Gophers have some time to perfect the challenge, with their first five Big Ten opponents hovering around 33 percent or lower from the arc. But the squad will need to improve significantly before February, lest the Gophers get completely overmatched outside by strong shooting Purdue, Indiana and Wisconsin.