Empty arena coming up for Gophers, but they'll take same approach

INDIANAPOLIS – The Big Ten announced Wednesday the rest of the tournament will be played in a nearly empty Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Gophers players are planning to block out that lockout.

"We're going to come out with the same mentality," sophomore Marcus Carr said after beating Northwestern on Wednesday. "Obviously, it's going to be a new environment for us, but we're just going to come out with the mentality to win."

Junior Payton Willis said it would be like playing in a closed scrimmage before the season, but with "more on the line."

"Certainly, with no fans, it will be a different atmosphere," Willis said. "We'll be coming out and competing just like there's fans out there and trying to get the 'W' [Thursday]."

The first two matchups were won by Iowa's All-America center Luka Garza, but Gophers Daniel Oturu looks forward to getting his revenge Thursday in the second round.

Garza was named Big Ten Player of the Year on Monday, and Oturu was force as well.

"Luka Garza's one of the best players in the country," Oturu said Wednesday. "So, being able to go up against a guy like that always brings the best out of you."

The last time they met, though, Garza led the Hawkeyes with 24 points in a 58-53 victory that started a downward spiral for the Gophers. Oturu had 15 points, but missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with a chance to tie the score with 3.5 seconds left. In the first meeting, Oturu and Garza were pretty close in points (22-21) and rebounds (12-10), with Minnesota's big man having the edge in both categories. But Oturu also committed eight turnovers in that 72-52 Gophers loss Dec. 9. You can bet he was hoping that he could play the Hawkeyes and Garza again.

"You want to compete with him because you know he's going to bring it," Oturu said. "Just being solid on defense and trying to make it as hard as possible for him is a key. ... Just going to try to compete with him and maybe even compete harder than him."

The Gophers saw their star center earn all-league second team honors partly because of their 8-12 record in the Big Ten, but he was still named Sporting News All-America third team Wednesday.

The Cretin-Derham Hall product is the first U player to earn All-America honors since Quincy Lewis in 1998-99.