RICHMOND, VA. – Gophers men's basketball coach Richard Pitino had a message for his players heading into their first road game of the season:
The Gophers would find out who they are here.
To an extent, they gave a telling glimpse Saturday night, adjusting to playing a zone defense in the game's final minutes to blow past Richmond 74-59 at the Robins Center.
Both Andre (26 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one turnover) and Austin Hollins (recording his second consecutive double-double with 11 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and no turnovers) were critical in turning the team around, even though the latter sat for most of the first half.
"I think it's huge," Austin Hollins said after the Gophers improved to 3-0 under their new coach. "There are a lot of guys [on this team] that haven't played in this type of environment. We faced a lot of adversity tonight."
After struggling against a plucky Richmond team through most of the game, the Gophers regrouped, holding the Spiders (2-1) without a point after they took a 59-55 lead with 7 minutes, 25 seconds to play. The Gophers finished by scoring the final 19 points of the game.
A quick 12-0 start slipped away when the Gophers — who had Austin Hollins, Elliott Eliason and DeAndre Mathieu on the bench with two fouls for most of the first half — struggled to defend Richmond. For much of the first half, Andre Hollins switched to point guard, leading an all-new lineup with Wally Ellenson and Malik Smith in the other two guard spots and Oto Osenieks and Joey King combining for an undersized frontcourt.
It looked less than comfortable. The pressure defense that the Gophers have been using became a weakness with the quick Richmond guards whizzing past them for easy transition baskets.