Gophers getting most out of vet Eric Curry going into Saturday's matchup with Michigan's Hunter Dickinson

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH:

Frontcourt matchup

There aren't as many teams that pass the eye test walking off the bus as the Big Ten when it comes to the size and talent of their frontcourts.

The Gophers have a heavy workload matching up this season against a loaded Big Ten in the post, including Purdue's 7-4 Zach Eddy and 6-10 Trevion Williams, Illinois' 7-foot, 290-pound Kofi Cockburn, Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Ohio State's E.J. Liddell.

The main Big Ten schedule doesn't start until January, but the Gophers have already been outscored 264-210 in points in the paint through eight games. They'll face their biggest challenge yet tonight with Michigan's 7-1, 260-pound Hunter Dickinson, who leads his team with 14.6 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks this season.

Dickinson, who had 23 points and 14 rebounds in a win against San Diego State recently, was a seemingly unmovable object inside in the Gophers' 82-57 loss in Ann Arbor last season with a career-high 28 points on 12-for-15 shooting. That was a big improvement from his nine-point performance in a 73-57 loss 10 days later at Minnesota on Jan. 16.

Dickinson was outplayed in the last meeting with the Gophers by 7-footer Liam Robbins, who had 22 points, eight rebounds, and two blocks. Robbins transferred to Vanderbilt after Richard Pitino was fired, so the Gophers will look to sixth-year senior Eric Curry to face off with Dickinson.

Instead of calling it quits on an injury-plagued career and being a graduate assistant, the 6-9, 245-pound Curry's averaging career-highs in points (8.9), rebounds (6.1), assists (1.8), and minutes (28.5), including a career-high 18 points in Wednesday's 75-67 loss to Michigan State.

"This is a new offense and he's getting used to how his body feels being able to move," Johnson said about Curry. "It's just timing. It's just getting acclimated to things. Getting acclimated to how different defenses are guarding you. It's getting confidence in your shot."

But Curry needs help battling against Big Ten frontcourts, especially on the boards.

The Gophers rank last in the country entering Wednesday at 358th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (16.2), per Kenpom.com. Senior Charlie Daniels, a Stephen F. Austin transfer, has been helpful defensively, but he has grabbed only seven rebounds in the last five games combined off the bench.

With Robbins gone, the only player taller than 6-9 on the Gophers' roster is the 6-11 freshman Treyton Thompson, but he has only played five minutes combined in two games. Is it time to give Thompson some minutes to provide more size and length inside?

"If I were to throw him in any game here coming up, I think he'll just be excited to be out there playing," Johnson said on Thompson. "He'll play with toughness and play 100 miles an hour. I just make sure I put these guys in position to be successful. [Thompson] has worked extra hard and put in extra time these last couple weeks in the gym. He's been great in practice. He's prepared the right way."

Howard connection

Howard reached out to Johnson when the Gophers first-year coach was hired to replace Richard Pitino on March 22. There was a similarity between the two of them being that they were coaching their alma mater.

"Ben Johnson being able to do the same thing going back to his alma mater and coach, how inspiring and awesome is that?" Howard said at Big Ten Media Day in Indianapolis. "I love his energy. The school hiring the man, I saw something special in him. That's what I see in myself."

Howard has been familiar with Minnesota since he was on his way to the Twin Cities to interview for the Timberwolves job in 2019 when he saw that John Beilein was leaving Michigan to coach in the NBA.

The Wolverines have also recruited the state and signed former Stewartville forward Will Tschetter last year. The 6-8 Tschetter is a redshirt candidate after not seeing any action this season.

Bench buckets

The Gophers managed to win 81-76 at Mississippi State last Sunday even without senior guard and sixth-man Sean Sutherlin, who is their top scorer off the bench.

Johnson plays primarily a seven-man rotation, so Sutherlin's presence has been critical this season. The Gophers rank last among all 358 Division I team in bench minutes percentage (14.1), per Kenpom.com.

Starters Payton Willis, Luke Loewe, E.J. Stephens, Jamison Battle, and Eric Curry are all among the Big Ten leaders in minutes played this season.

Sutherlin and Daniels, among the six seniors in the rotation, average a combined 30.8 minutes this season off the bench. They're the only two reserves playing more than 3.6 minutes.

Freshman guard Abdoulaye Thiam and sophomore forward Will Ramberg saw limited minutes against Mississippi State, but Sutherlin's return was welcomed against the Spartans.

Sutherlin had eight points in 24 minutes on Wednesday to help the Gophers fight back from a 19-point deficit to cut it to a six-point game late in the second half.

Free throw factor

The Gophers are last in the Big Ten and 267^th nationally in free throws made per game (10.4) this season.

It helped that several of Minnesota's opponents have averaged even fewer free throws made: Princeton (9.6), Jacksonville (8.8), UMKC (7.4).

So what happens when Minnesota faces an opponent that is better at drawing fouls? The Gophers barely escaped 54-53 at Pittsburgh after going 3-for-5 from the foul line, the fewest free throws in a game since the 2014-15 season.

They matched Mississippi State at the charity stripe as they both shot 11-for-13, but all of Minnesota's free throws came in the second half. On Wednesday, Michigan State shot 15-for-19 from the foul line and the Gophers were only 7-for-9.

GAME INFO

Time: 5:30 p.m. CT, Saturday. Where: Crisler Center. Line: Michigan 13.5-point favorite. Series: Michigan owns the series advantage 868-780, including Minnesota's 75-57 win at the Barn last season. TV: FS1. Online/Live video: FoxSports stream. Radio: 100.3 KFAN

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (7-1)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Payton Willis 6-4 195 Sr. 16.4

G – E.J. Stephens 6-3 190 Sr. 10.6

G – Luke Loewe 6-4 190 Sr. 6.8

F – Jamison Battle 6-7 225 So. 17.8

F – Eric Curry 6-9 245 Sr. 8.9

Key reserves– Sean Sutherlin, G/F, 6-5, Sr., 9.0 ppg; Charlie Daniels, C/F, 6-9, Sr., 1.6 ppg.

Coach: Ben Johnson 7-1 (1st season)

Notable: The Gophers shot a program-low 28.4% from three last season, but they've made a jump to 34.9% this season through eight games. They're even better at three-point defense holding opponents to 26.2% shooting, which ranks 19th in Division I … Sutherlin led the Gophers with 19 points on 7-for-7 shooting from the field and seven rebounds in the Nov. 19 win against Purdue Fort Wayne. The New Brighton, Minn., native scored the most points (44) combined in consecutive games off the bench since former Gophers guard Isaiah Washington during the 2017-18 season … 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, could possibly be cleared to play by January. But it still appears that both Fox and Ihnen will sit out this season.

Michigan Wolverines (6-3)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Eli Brooks 6-1 Sr. 13.9

G – DeVante' Jones 6-1 Sr. 6.0

F – Caleb Houstan 6-8 Fr. 10.4

F – Moussa Diabate 6-10 Fr. 7.6

C – Hunter Dickinson 7-1 So. 14.6

Reserves – Brandon Johns, Jr., F, 6-9, Sr., 6.7 ppg; Terrance Williams III, F, 6-7, So., 7.0 ppg; Frankie Collins, G, 5-11, Fr., 3.3 ppg; Kobe Bufkin, G, 6-4, Fr., 3.4 ppg.

Coach: Juwan Howard 48-20 (3rd season)

Notable: The Wolverines dropped from No. 6 in the Associated Press preseason poll out of the top 25 after losses to Seton Hall, Arizona, and North Carolina. Howard's team bounced back with wins against San Diego State and Nebraska in the last two games, including with 15 three-pointers in a 102-67 win at Nebraska in Tuesday's Big Ten opener.

Fuller's score prediction (Picks record 6-2): Michigan 80, Gophers 66.