- Lineup: Ahanmisi, Welch, Coleman, Williams, Sampson
Today will be Coleman's first collegiate career start, in place of the struggling Austin Hollins. Smith is hoping he will give the Gophers more aggressiveness on the floor.
Coach Tubby Smith and the Gophers players seemed intent to improve on Friday, when they talked about ending this 0-3 losing skid. There were no hung heads, there were no empty excuses. Everyone talked change, and fast. Maybe that's because they all understand just how critical this game against Purdue really is.
A win today, and/or a miracle at Assembly Hall in Bloomington next week are the only things keeping the Gophers from plunging to 0-5 on the year. And yes, if they get to that point, heading to Penn State – Hey, another zone defense! – will suddenly be a concern. The Nittany Lions are suddenly full of confidence after pummeling Purdue and then scaring Indiana earlier today.
The Gophers were doubly hurt when Purdue got annihilated at Penn State last week. The Boilermakers will come in angry, and perhaps almost as hungry for a win as the Gophers, who have fallen in close ones to Illinois, Michigan and Iowa.
Coleman will start, a change that would be as much a psychological lift as a physical one. When you aren't winnings games, sending out the same lineup that's not working can create a mental rut.
Three things Smith wants to see today:
1. Aggressiveness. Against Iowa, the Gophers were shut down by the Hawkeyes' zone defense, forced out of the paint and kept from the free-throw line. The Gophers should have an easier time with Purdue's man-to-man defense, but Smith wants the Gophers to rediscover their inside game, which has been quickly disappearing in Big Ten play.
2. Confidence. Smith described the team as looking "scared" and like "a deer in the headlights" against Iowa. The slow 0-3 start probably doesn't help a team that watched a promising season collapse down the stretch last year. But the Gophers need to show mental fortitude – even if they choke away a big lead – for 40 minutes if they want to break the trend.
3. Good shot selection. Last game, with the Gophers mostly relegated to the outside and unable/unwilling to force their way in, the team flung three-pointers like rice at a wedding – in bunches and without much regard to where they went. The result was just over 17 percent efficiency from behind the arc, and a dissolved lead. The Gophers need to be more patient and more accurate with their shots today.
