Gophers' frontcourt healthier for the rematch against Ohio State star E.J. Liddell

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH:

Legit Liddell

E.J. Liddell has been a matchup problem for the entire Big Ten, but Gophers coach Ben Johnson really doesn't sleep well having to prepare to play Ohio State.

The Gophers were without the service of senior captain and 6-9 forward Eric Curry the last time they played the Buckeyes, so they'll be more equipped to defend him this time around.

Curry's back fully healthy from an ankle injury for Tuesday's rematch in Columbus. The Gophers hope Curry continues playing at a high level after his career-high 22 points in a 76-70 win against Penn State on Saturday.

But that's pretty much a nightly performance for Liddell, one of several talented big men the Gophers have faced in the Big Ten. And he's arguably the most versatile of the bunch.

Illinois' Kofi Cockburn and Purdue's Zach Edey are overpowering with their size and physical post presence. Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis and Michigan's Hunter Dickinson are a mixture of power and finesse. Liddell is physically tough and an all-around stat stuffer.

"He's a matchup nightmare with his versatility to play inside and out," Johnson when the U lost 75-64 against the Buckeyes on Jan. 27. "He's smart and makes you sick when watching film thinking about how you're going to guard him."

The 6-7, 240-pound junior had 23 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists last month at Williams Arena. He was the first Buckeyes player in the last 25 years to put up at least 20 points, 15 rebounds, and five assists in a game, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

Since his last game against the Gophers, the Belleville, Ill., native has scored 20 points or more in four of the last five games.

In Saturday's 68-57 win at Michigan, Liddell scored 17 of his 28 points in the second half, along with going 11-for-11 from the foul line, finishing with five rebounds and three blocks.

Liddell also could join Wake Forest's Tim Duncan as the only power conference players since 1993-94 to average at least 19.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks in a season.

Liddell will be a tough task, but he had been 1-3 against the Gophers and shot just 12-for-33 from the field in four career games against them before this season.

Limit turnovers

After the Gophers committed 18 turnovers in last Wednesday's 78-65 loss at Nebraska, they had a team meeting to let out the frustration over an uncharacteristic outing with a lack of ball control.

Sure, there was the U's 28 turnovers in a Dec. 14 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the most for the program since 2007. But that seemed more like an aberration.

Even after a combined 45 points on 30 turnovers in consecutive losses to Iowa and Nebraska recently, the Gophers only average 9.5 turnovers per game this season, ranked sixth nationally.

Snapping a five-game losing streak with Saturday's win against Penn State, Johnson's team had 20 assists and only three turnovers on the night. That included senior point guard Payton Willis' 18 points, 10 assists, and just one turnover in 40 minutes.

"Nobody likes to lose," Willis said. "It was kind of getting to us, but we got everything off our chest [Friday]. All of the negative stuff and came out and showed [improvement] the way we played."

Defense optional

The best Big Ten teams know how to win grind-it-out, rugged, and ugly games, but the Gophers have struggled to make it tough on opponents to score this season.

Even in Saturday's win against Penn State, the Gophers allowed the Nittany Lions to score their second most points in conference play (70) and shoot 55% from the field, including 60% in the first half.

In last Wednesday's loss in Lincoln, Nebraska shot 58 percent in the second half, including 61% inside the arc. The Cornhuskers outscored Minnesota 40-22 in points in the paint and scored 21 fastbreak points.

In a Feb. 6 loss at Iowa, the Gophers allowed the Hawkeyes to shoot 52% in the second half, so there was clearly a trend of defensive struggles once the bulk of league play started last month.

During the Gophers' 10-1 start this season they held opponents to 63.1 points per game, 24.8% shooting from three-point range, and 41% shooting from the field. Obviously, the competition wasn't outstanding as a whole, but they did have wins against Western Kentucky, Princeton, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Mississippi State.

Since then, the Gophers are 2-9 with opponents averaging about 74 points per game, shooting 38.3% (87-for-227) from three-point range and 48.2% from the field (314-for-651).

Not surprisingly, Minnesota ranks 11th in scoring defense, 13th in three-point defense, and 14th in field goal percentage defense in 13 Big Ten games this season.

The Buckeyes are fourth in Big Ten games in three-point defense (32.5%), sixth in field goal defense (43.1%), and sixth in scoring defense (68.4).

Rebounding margin

The Gophers ranked last in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-3.6) last season under Richard Pitino – and they're even worse in Johnson's first year.

The Gophers are 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-6.1) overall and 354th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (18.6), per Kenpom.

Johnson's philosophy is to give up crashing the offensive boards to hustle back for transition defense, so that can skew the offensive rebounding numbers (league-low 6.3 per game).

In Big Ten play, the rebounding margin between the Gophers and their opponents has been greater at minus-8.8, second-to-last in the conference. Only Nebraska is worse at minus-9.3.

In a loss to the Buckeyes last month, the Gophers were outrebounded 48-22, which included 27 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. That was the most offensive rebounds allowed since Iowa had 27 in a double overtime at Minnesota on Christmas Day 2020.

Curry's return from an ankle injury recently has helped the Gophers compete better on the glass. They've barely been beat overall in rebounding in losses at Wisconsin (33-32) and at Iowa (40-38). They also outrebounded Nebraska overall 37-34 but were beaten 36-21 on the glass against Penn State on Saturday.

GAME INFO

Time: 7:30 p.m. CT, Tuesday. Where: Schottenstein Center. Line: Minnesota 13-point underdog. Series: Minnesota leads the series 91-54 but dropped the last game 75-64 in Minneapolis on Jan. 27. TV: Big Ten Network. Online/Live video: BTN-plus. Radio: 100.3 KFAN

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (12-10, 3-10 in conference)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Payton Willis 6-4 195 Sr. 16.5

G – E.J. Stephens 6-3 190 Sr. 11.0

G – Luke Loewe 6-4 190 Sr. 8.1

F – Jamison Battle 6-7 225 So. 16.7

F – Eric Curry 6-9 245 Sr. 8.9

Key reserves– Sean Sutherlin, G/F, 6-5, Sr., 6.7 ppg; Charlie Daniels, F, 6-9, Sr., 1.6 ppg; Treyton Thompson, F, 6-11, Fr., 2.2 ppg.

Coach: Ben Johnson 12-10 (1st season)

Notable: Nine of Minnesota's 10 losses have been against teams in the NET's top 40, including six games against currently ranked opponents. … Junior forwards Parker Fox (Northern State transfer) and Isaiah Ihnen are sidelined indefinitely after offseason knee surgery. Fox, who tore his ACL and MCL in late March, is nine months recovered and could be cleared to practice soon. But it still appears that both Fox and Ihnen will sit out this season.

NO. 18 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES (15-6, 8-4)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Jamari Wheeler 6-1 170 Sr. 6.9

G – Malaki Branham 6-5 180 Fr. 10.7

F – Justin Ahrens 6-6 195 Sr. 6.3

F – E.J. Liddell 6-7 240 Jr. 20.1

C – Zed Key 6-8 245 So. 9.1

Reserves – Jimmy Sotos, G, 6-2, Sr., 1.7 ppg; Cedric Russell, G, 6-2, Sr., 4.4 ppg; Eugene Brown III, G, 6-6, So., 3.3 ppg; Kyle Young, F, 6-8, Sr., 8.3 ppg.

Coach: Chris Holtmann 216-135 (11th season)

Notable: The Buckeyes were without starting point guard Jamari Wheeler (foot) when they won at Minnesota on Jan. 27. The former Penn State guard has since returned as a key piece averaging 6.9 points, 3.5 assists, and 1.5 steals this season. A game-time decision is freshman guard Meechie Johnson, who is averaging 6.6 points off the bench. … Holtmann won his first game at the Barn on Jan. 27 after losing his first couple trips as Ohio State's coach. The Buckeyes have also lost their last meeting with the Gophers at home in a 62-59 game on Jan. 23, 2020. Former Gophers guard Marcus Carr, who transferred to Texas, hit the game-winning three-pointer during the 2019-20 season.

Fuller's score prediction (Picks record: 16-6): Ohio State 73, Gophers 63.