Gophers men's basketball vs. Indiana
THREE THINGS TO WATCH:
Freshmen phenom – Freshman Romeo Langford could've played for any college program in America, but he chose to stay home to lead Indiana basketball back to prominence. Langford was one of Indiana's best high school players ever. The 6-foot-6 guard went from a McDonald's All-American to the Hoosiers' top scorer this season with 17.5 points per game, including nine 20-point or more performances. Langford, a top-10 projected pick in this summer's NBA Draft, is trying to keep Archie Miller's squad in NCAA tournament contention. Where would the Gophers be if two of Minnesota's top high school players left the state for college? Richard Pitino knew what he had in Daniel Oturu and Gabe Kalscheur, who are averaging 11.0 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Oturu leads all Big Ten freshmen in rebounds (7.3), blocks (1.6) and field goal percentage (56.8). The 6-10 center is averaging a team-best 14.8 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks during Minnesota's four-game losings streak. So you really have to be impressed with how Oturu continues to compete facing adversity. Kalscheur leads the Gophers in three-point percentage (38.0) and threes (52). It will be tough to fill out an All-Big Ten freshman team ballot this year. Langford is a lock, but he might not be freshman of the year. That distinction likely belongs to either Michigan's Izzy Brazdeikis or Illinois' Ayo Dosunmu. Other freshmen standouts this year that need to be considered are Maryland's Jalen Smith, Illini's Giorgi Bezhanishvili and Iowa's Joe Wieskamp for sure.
Bench production – The Gophers haven't been able to rely on their bench, especially during the losing streak. Their lack of production was glaring with just two points in Wednesday's 62-61 loss at Nebraska. Senior center Matz Stockman was the only player to score off the bench with two points in five minutes. Senior guard Brock Stull, freshman forward Jarvis Omersa and sophomore guard Isaiah Washington combined for just one assist and one rebound in 18 minutes. And just one shot was taken between the three players. The starters were giving everything they had in the final minutes to win the game, but they had to be exhausted. Junior guard Amir Coffey (39 minutes), senior guard Dupree McBrayer (36 minutes) and Oturu (35 minutes) either tied or played the most minutes in a game all season. Senior forward Jordan Murphy's 33 minutes were more than his season average. Other than Oturu's production, the Gophers averaged just 4.5 points off the bench in the last four games. Sophomore big man Eric Curry's expected return Saturday after a two-game absence with a calf injury is a welcomed sight. Curry, who started five games, is averaging 4.5 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Indiana's bench scored 19 points in a recent loss against Ohio State, and it had 28 points in the Hoosiers' last victory at Michigan State.
Finishing defense – Oturu did what he needed to stop what seemed like Nebraska's final chance to win the game Wednesday against the Gophers. He blocked a layup attempt by Glynn Watson Jr. with seconds winding down. McBrayer grabbed the loose ball. Game over, right? Not so fast. McBrayer appeared to step out of bounds on the baseline. The Cornhuskers inbounded the ball to James Palmer Jr. and he drew the foul on Coffey to set up his game-winning free throws. As well as Minnesota played defensively down the stretch, it wasn't able to finish the job. It was the second road loss this season where a loose ball decided the game. In a one-point loss at Michigan, Curry made a block on a last-second layup, but the ball deflected to Charles Matthews for the buzzer-beating jump shot.
GAME INFO
Time: 1 p.m. CT, Saturday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Gophers 3.0-point favorite. Series: Indiana leads the series 101-68, including winning the last meeting 80-56 on Feb. 9, 2018 in Bloomington, Ind.TV: ESPN2. Online/Live video: WatchESPN Radio: 100.3 FM.
PROJECTED STARTERS
