When discussing the Gophers, there is plenty to criticize.
Minnesota has lost its last three games and has shown a variety of troubles. Scoring deficits. Coaching deficits. Energy deficits. And a turnover deficit.
I wrote about all that yesterday.
But there is at least one glimmer of optimism, one significant improvement that can't be the only thing, but can certainly be an important part of a winning formula.
That's shooting – Austin Hollins' and Andre Hollins' shooting, to be specific.
No, it's not consistent yet. But it's present.
In the past two games, Austin has gone 5-for-9 (55.5 percent) from 3-point range, and Andre, 9-for-20 (45 percent). The game before (at Nebraska), Andre went 3-for-8 from that distance.
It's a small sample size, and it hasn't been always consistent throughout games. Against Purdue, neither had made a 3-pointer before there was 2:34 left in the first half. Yesterday in the loss to Illinois, four of the six 3-pointers between the pair came in one seven-minute stretch in the second half.
