Injury could sideline Minnesota's Rodney Williams again

IOWA CITY - There's a chance Elliott Eliason will be in the Gophers' starting lineup Wednesday at Ohio State. He would take the place of Rodney Williams, who coach Tubby Smith said during Monday's Big Ten teleconference is day-to-day because of a shoulder injury and could wind up sitting out in Columbus.

"We're going to see today how he responds to treatment and just go from there," Smith said.

Williams, who originally injured his left shoulder in a Feb. 9 practice, played 10 minutes in Sunday's loss at Iowa. The forward didn't attempt a shot in the first half and sat out the entire second. He also sat out the Gophers' Feb. 10 loss to Illinois because of the injury.

The senior, averaging 11.4 points per game, played 36 minutes and scored 10 points in the Gophers' overtime victory over Wisconsin on Thursday, but he was fouled hard in the second half and had the shoulder wrapped with a large ice pack afterward.

"[Sunday] he really struggled," Smith said. "It looked like it was really bothering him, and it was, so we sat him down."

Williams wasn't made available after the 72-51 loss, but his teammates said they could tell he was struggling.

"A shoulder injury is not an easy one to fight, but he did the best he could, I thought, and it was just tough on him," Austin Hollins said.

Eliason started in Williams' place against Illinois, finishing with four points and 10 rebounds. The center had only four points and four rebounds in 28 minutes Sunday, but Smith said that Eliason is the Gophers' best threat against zone defenses -- which have given the Gophers considerable trouble this season -- because he's "willing to pass it, he's willing to get in the gap."

Dealing with a callusAustin Hollins has been dealing with a callus on his right (shooting) hand, Smith said Monday.

"It really was a nasty-looking [sore] on his hand," Smith said. "So it was one of those things where his ball-handling was a little shaky. I'm not making excuses for him, but I could see he kept pulling at his hand. We put some adhesive on it, but I don't know if it did much."

The callus shouldn't affect Hollins' playing time going forward, Smith said.

A tough stretchWhen Andre Hollins picked up his second foul against Iowa and Smith took him out, the Gophers were leading 23-13 with 8:47 left in the first half.