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Gophers

Five things that need to happen for Richard Pitino's Gophers

By Marcus Fuller

December 15, 2019 at 5:40AM
Gophers guard Marcus Carr drove to the basket in the second half.
Gophers guard Marcus Carr drove against Clemson. (Brian Stensaas — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Five things that need to happen for a Gophers turnaround:

1. Find a sidekick for Oturu: Not only does Gophers sophomore Daniel Oturu have to keep playing like arguably the best center in the Big Ten, but he needs a teammate to join him as an all-league player.

2. Stay hot from the arc: Every team has an off shooting night, but that can't happen too often for the Gophers, who must lead the Big Ten in three-point shooting.

3. Get backcourt trio to show up: Can the same Gophers backcourt that went 3-for-29 in the loss at Iowa do the opposite in big games and dominate the opposition?

4. Establish defensive identity: The Gophers ranked in the top 50 in defensive efficiency in two of past three seasons. Currently 72nd.

5. Beat a ranked team on the road: The past two years the Gophers made the NCAA tournament, they defeated ranked Purdue and Wisconsin teams away from the Barn.

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about the writer

about the writer

Marcus Fuller

Reporter

Marcus Fuller covers Gophers men's basketball, national college basketball, college sports and high school recruiting for the Minnesota Star Tribune.

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