Blowout over Southern grants time to Gophers' bench

On another night at Williams Arena, against another lightweight pre-Christmas opponent, the Gophers men's basketball team dominated early and throughout and posted a lopsided 85-57 victory over Southern.

Andre Hollins exploded for 24 points. DeAndre Mathieu (10 points, five assists) and Mo Walker (11 points and six rebounds) were solid. The high-flying offense shot 54.7 percent and overcame 16 turnovers. The defense was strong.

But as much as anything, perhaps the biggest victory on a yawn-worthy night for Minnesota came in the chances it got to exercise the deepest part of its bench.

With the team's reserve supply dwindling in the past few weeks — first sophomore guard Daquein McNeil was arrested on two counts of felony domestic assault and then freshman forward Josh Martin elected to transfer — every benchwarmer has taken on a new importance. During these final nonconference games vs. opponents that don't bring much to the table, the Gophers' focus is just as much about developing for the future as it is about succeeding in the present.

Task No. 1, in that regard: getting freshman Bakary Konate — a talented but raw big man who last played in Spain — in game-ready form.

"As y'all can see, we're shorthanded," Mathieu said. "He's going to have to play a lot of Big Ten time, and these games help him get the groove, get the speed of the game, learn the plays a little bit at the four and the five and actually have game moments."

Konate was averaging only 6.9 minutes a game coming into Wednesday night, but he, along with reserve forward Charles Buggs, had plenty of opportunities with the Gophers (8-2) leaping ahead by double digits for good midway through the first half and crushing Southern (2-7) 46-23 at the break.

The 6-11, 225-pound Konate remains raw at all aspects of the game, but he'll be relied upon for depth at center and power forward in the months ahead and is expected to replace Walker as the starting center next season. Athletic redshirt sophomore Buggs — who had another thundering dunk and finished with seven points and four rebounds — isn't a complete player yet either, but suddenly has become the backup power forward and small forward after McNeil's arrest.

Now that the roster is down to nine players, the team has taken on a group mentality — building strength from the starting five to the last man on the pine.

"Now that our depth has gone down a little bit, everybody is important," Hollins said. "Everybody is going to play. … Everybody is going to have to contribute for us to continue to improve and get better."

On Wednesday, coach Richard Pitino played Buggs exclusively at the small forward spot, the area where he's probably going to be most needed but also where he is most uncomfortable.

The coach put Konate in a variety of situations — at center and power forward, in big lineups and small — for a total of 23 minutes. He got touches in the post, opportunities at the line and pulled his weight on the boards, finishing with six points and six rebounds.

"I was just trying to tinker a little bit," Pitino said.

Soon the holidays will come and go and the time for experimentation will be over. The Big Ten season kicks off at Purdue on New Year's Eve.

"It's really important," Mathieu said. "Hopefully they just continue to improve."