GOPHERS at ARKANSAS
Three things to watch:
HANDLING HELL – You know the saying, if you play with fire, you get burned. The Gophers should take that to heart Saturday playing against Arkansas' well-known 40 Minutes of Hell style that dates all the way back to the 1994 national championship Razorbacks team under former coach Nolan Richardson. Current Arkansas coach Mike Anderson, a former Richardson assistant, hopes to create havoc with his full court press and run Minnesota out of the building. How Gophers guards Nate Mason, Dupree McBrayer, Amir Coffey and Isaiah Washington handle the pressure will likely determine the outcome. The Gophers rank third in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and average just 11.7 turnovers a game. Mason and McBrayer are fourth (3.7) and fifth (3.4) in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio, respectively. The Hogs rank fourth in the Southeastern Conference in turnovers forced per game (16.4). Minnesota and Arkansas both like to run, ranking 27th and 28th in the country in adjusted tempo, per advanced stats guru Ken Pomeroy. But slowing down the Hogs is the way to beat them. North Carolina (87-68) and Houston (91-65) blew out Arkansas winning the rebounding battle and limiting the Hogs to 11 fastbreak points combined in two games.
THREE-POINT DEFENSE – How did Washington upset Kansas and Loyola-Chicago upset Florida this week? Both the Jayhawks and Gators were two of the top three-point shooting teams in the country. You could say they live and die by hitting shots from beyond the arc. Take that away and they're vulnerable. The same goes for Arkansas, which shoots 39.9 percent from three-point range. In losses to North Carolina and Houston, the Razorbacks were held to 32.6 percent (15-for-46) from three. Arkansas' leading scorer Jaylen Barford and Daryl Macon are two of the top shooters in the SEC. They've hit a combined 36 threes at 46.2 percent and 43.9 percent from long distance, respectively. Defending threes has been a weakness for the Gophers this year, ranking 12th in the Big Ten allowing opponents to shoot 37.8 percent.
PASSING OUT OF POST – Nebraska and Rutgers were the first two opponents this season to figure out how to slow down All-American candidate Jordan Murphy, who is averaging 19.9 points and 12.9 rebounds this season. Murphy recorded his national-best 10th straight double-double in Tuesday's 78-68 loss at Nebraska. But the Cornhuskers double teamed him and frontcourt mate Reggie Lynch forcing them to pass out of the post. That's not their strong suit. Murphy and Lynch combined for eight turnovers. In the last two games, Murphy has seven turnovers and is shooting just 28 percent from the field (7-for-25). Arkansas has the size (nine players 6-foot-5 or taller) and athleticism to harass Murphy and Lynch into taking contested shots and throwing errant passes. They need to be strong with the ball and make sure their passes out of the post are on the money.
GAME INFO
Time: 5:45 p.m. CT, Saturday. Where: Bud Walton Arena. Line: Arkansas by 3 points. Series: Minnesota leads 51-15. Minnesota won last meeting 88-73 at home on March 2, 2017. TV: SEC Network. Online/Live video: WatchESPN Radio: 100.3 FM and 1130 AM
