Read my full game story here.

This year's Minnesota team got an early litmus test. Usually, the Gophers have to wait.
There is talk about improvement, a new efficiency, a next stage while Minnesota picks up 11-13 wins and fans grow excited.

These Gophers, though, were tested right away against No. 8 Louisville. They showed fans, and the country, on national TV, just how far they are from a squad that can contend with the nation's elite.

None of this means they won't get there or that they aren't improved or that they can't find the next stage, only that they aren't there yet, at all.

And maybe, for Minnesota, that isn't the worst thing. This team could still have potential. It isn't here yet. Maybe better to know just how true that is early.

A few quick notes from the 81-68 loss:

*The Gophers will need all the depth they have and more if they continue to foul the way they did on Friday. Four of Minnesota's five starters finished with four and there weren't many exempt from the sloppiness. So many whistles. So. many. whistles.

*This team is still coming together. They looked young. Overwhelmed by the press and frustrated. And those sentiments seemed to bleed into more mistakes, aka rushed shots, turnovers and a 20-33 performance from the free throw line. Poise and chemistry aren't there yet.

*Carlos Morris is human. At first, it looked like more of the same for Morris, who has been phenomenal in every test leading up to the opener. He scored five of Minnesota's first seven points, and tapped three fingers to his head after hitting a three-pointer. Then he came back down to earth, scoring just four more the rest of the way and picking up four fouls

*DeAndre Mathieu isn't over the hump. Between a scrimmage, an exhibition and now a season opener, we're still waiting for the senior point guard to show us he can fix the decision-making errors that plagued him a year ago while adjusting to better defenses that will key in on him much more. Mathieu picked up two quick fouls in the first half, putting the Gophers in a bind without his defining presence pushing the offense.