Gophers postgame: Four things to tweak with big three-game stretch looming

Read my story on tonight's 69-51 win over UMBC and the road ahead here.

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Alright, that's done, let's move on to some more interesting games now.

Actually, Minnesota made tonight's matchup -- which looked the part of another big, big blowout -- interesting (in a bad way) at points by doing some of the same things that have dogged them all year.

In the second half, the Gophers were able to make some adjustments and a) hit Mo Walker on the inside enough and b) play scrappy enough defense to pull away with an 18-point win despite shooting as though they were wearing weighted gloves all night.

Overall, the defense has been pretty good in the last three games. Minnesota has forced at least 23 turnovers in each and posted at least 13 steals. The pressure has been much better than it was a year ago.

Still, there are a few lingering trends that need to be shored up if Minnesota wants to have success in its next hectic stretch ahead: two games at the NIT Season Tipoff in New York, starting with St. John's (and possibly followed by No. 13 Gonzaga) and then a road game at Wake Forest.

Fouling. This was a big problem vs. Louisville in the season opener and reared its head again tonight a little bit. Almost the entire backcourt was in foul trouble in the first half tonight, and the Gophers let a litany of whistles disrupt them somewhat.

Free throws. Kind of strange how big of an issue this has been. The Gophers haven't exceeded 61 percent from the free throw line in any game so far. Tonight, they were just 7-for-14. "That needs to be fixed because shooting 50 percent is killer," Pitino said.

Offensive identity. When former coach Tubby Smith was around, all the team wanted to do was shoot. Pitino is trying to get rid of that mentality, considering his personnel. The Gophers attempted 23 three-pointers on Saturday, making only six. In the second half, Minnesota was able to drive more and pound the ball inside effectively. "I don't know how great of a shooting team we're going to be," Pitino said. So we've got to play inside-out."