5ive Questions: Starting with Iowa Sunday, Gophers' path gets easier

What's up?

The Gophers face Iowa Sunday in their sixth Big Ten game.

Here are five questions related to the matchup:

Did the Gophers overachieve in their first five games?

The Gophers have played four games against ranked opponents. They've faced three nationally ranked teams on the road. A 1-4 start was expected. By beating eighth-ranked Purdue Thursday, they avoided that hole and came away from that five-game stretch with a solid 2-3 record.

It doesn't seem like much of a difference from 1-4, but the Gophers protected their home floor in their first five conference games and those road losses in conference action will do more to bolster their strength of schedule than harm their NCAA tourney resume.

So I think they overachieved in their first five games.

They should. They face Iowa Sunday, Michigan on the road Saturday and Northwestern next week.

From there, they travel to Purdue and Indiana. The Gophers are talented enough to win their next five games and enter their Feb. 6 home matchup against second-ranked Ohio State with a 7-3 record in conference play.

What's with the Gophers' newfound hustle?

We might look back at the last eight minutes of the Gophers' loss at Ohio State as the turning point this season. They were frustrated with underperforming and they went all out.

They carried that energy into their victory over the Boilermakers.

They don't have McDonald's All-America talent. But the Gophers can pressure teams as well any squad in the Big Ten. When they turn up the tempo, they're hard to stop.

But they can't play with that level of energy in spurts. They have to maintain it over 40 minutes, which isn't an easy task.

Will Blake Hoffarber get more touches?

Tubby Smith says he will.

He's one of the best shooters in the country. The Gophers have a limited offense, so they need to do whatever is necessary to create space for Hoffarber. And Hoffarber needs to work as hard as he did against Purdue without the ball in his hands.

He scored 26 points against Purdue. The way he shoots that shouldn't be the last time he plays that way.

Will Trevor Mbakwe start?

Before the team's practice Saturday, Smith said he hadn't made that decision yet. But the junior power forward played big minutes against the Boilermakers (31). So even if he doesn't start, he'll play plenty.

Prediction: The Gophers have plowed through the toughest stretch of the season. And they have a chance to build up some serious momentum.