Gophers notes: Mbakwe will need to stay out of foul trouble vs. UCLA

In today's Star Tribune: The Gophers are a trendy pick to beat UCLA despite downturn.

The Gophers have their share of flaws this season – that's obvious.

But there are three I would consider their fatal flaws:

1.Too many turnovers
2.Inconsistent shooting
3.Too much fouling.

We talk a ton about the first two – if the Gophers could only hold onto the ball or make more shots from the outside, their weaknesses in the half-court offense wouldn't be so exposed, for example.

But the third deserves a lot of attention as well, especially with Trevor Mbakwe missing all but 12 minutes of the last two first halves for Minnesota combined after the sixth-year senior picked up two early fouls in each game (at Purdue at against Illinois in the first round of the Big Ten tournament).

After the Gophers were eliminated in the conference tournament, Mbakwe expressed frustration at himself for getting into quick foul trouble once again, and hurting his team.

"Two fouls -- there's nothing I can do about that, and Trevor can't play with three," Smith said. "He's proven that. Once he gets his first or second foul, he's winding down defensively. And that's a real problem for us, because now an opposing team just throws it inside on him and he's just going to back off."

The solution, the coach said, is for Mbakwe to be more aggressive earlier in the possession, rather than be forced to foul a guy who is going at the basket.

"That's one of the things we talk about him all the time -- just keep it off him," Smith said. "You're strong enough, physical enough, quick enough, usually you're playing against a bigger guy – don't let him catch it. Our defense is designed on if the ball is scoring in the pass. We deny on scoring in the pass. So if you let him get the ball, that means you didn't do your job to start with. And that's how he gets in trouble."

One of the Gophers' best matchup advantages against UCLA is their strength on the boards – an area where the Bruins are inconsistent, so keeping Mbakwe in the game for the maximum amount of time will be critical.

Other notes from today's media access:

Getting chosen by the NCAA selection committee): "It feels great. It's a sigh of relief. It makes you nervous waiting for your name to be called. But we're excited for another opportunity. Grateful for it. It's some fresh air."

(On the matchup): "I think we have a good matchup with UCLA. Have to out and try to play the way we were in the beginning of the season – tough and physical. I think we have a good chance of winning. UCLA is a very talented team and they score a lot. One of our weaknesses is transition defense so we've been working on that a lot lately. It's nice to get out of the Big Ten grind and low-scoring affairs, maybe get a chance to get out in transition more because that's when we're at our best, not settling for half-court offense. End of the game is going to be based on who defends the best."

(On the hype surrounding the team, with many picking the Gophers to upset UCLA in the first round and go even further): "It says a lot. Being an 11th seed, having people still high on you, especially after the letdown we had as a team. Obviously, coming in we wanted to be a higher seed, but it says a lot that we can't put too much into it. Obviously UCLA is hearing the same thing—they're hearing that they're one of the teams that could be upset and they're going to take that as material and they're going to fight."

(On how the grind of the Big Ten has prepared the Gophers for the NCAA tournament): "We played one of the toughest schedules. We play the Indianas, the Michigans, the Wisconsins of the world, so we know what it takes to win tough games. We know what it feels like … I think the Big Ten definitely prepared us for this situation and it's nice to finally get out of the Big Ten and play some fresh, some new teams that you're not very familiar with. And I think it will definitely be good for us."