Last night's win was an emotional one. The Gophers went on 20-4 run to separate from a tight game and pull out a victory. That entire run included just one jump shot.
So far, this year's Gophers have gotten away with shooting poorly. In the first exhibition against Bemidji State, the Gophers shot 14 percent from three-point range. Against Augustana, they connected for 29 percent. Both games – against DII opponents – they won. But with opposing teams knocking down flurries of big shots, the Gophers have twice seemed on the verge of a loss because of their outside shooting disadvantage.
Friday, they made it work by getting to the free-throw line eight times in the final five minutes. But the reality is, they never should have been there.
"If we had knocked down some of those shots early or didn't miss a couple shots inside, the score would have been a lot different," coach Tubby Smith said. "But I thought we did what we had to do to get the win."
That was true, this time. But it doesn't change the harsh reality: this team still hasn't proven it can hit shots.
Austin Hollins said the biggest thing is keeping up the confidence of the team. In the locker room, players stress just keeping at it, he said. He said he knows this team can shoot and he knows they haven't found that yet.
"They've got to keep shooting," Smith said. "There's nothing you can do but just keep shooting."