Gophers starting senior big man Eric Curry out with injury at Maryland

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Curry out with injury

Gophers senior big man Eric Curry is sidelined for tonight's game at Maryland with an undisclosed injury.

Curry, the team's starting center, was hurt in Sunday's 84-79 loss at home on senior night. He was replaced in the starting lineup by senior Charlie Daniels, who started four games this year when Curry was out with an ankle injury.

Curry averages 7.8 points and second on the team with 5.8 rebounds per game this season.

The Gophers ranked last in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-3.6) last season under Richard Pitino – and they're even worse in Johnson's first year.

The Gophers are 13th in the Big Ten in rebounding margin (minus-6.3) overall and 356th nationally in offensive rebounding percentage (17.8), per Kenpom.

Johnson's philosophy is to give up crashing the offensive boards to hustle back for transition defense, so that can skew the offensive rebounding numbers (league-low 6.0 per game).

In Big Ten play, the rebounding margin between the Gophers and their opponents has been greater at minus-8.3, ranks last in the conference.

In a loss to the Buckeyes last month, the Gophers were outrebounded 48-22, which included 27 second-chance points on 20 offensive rebounds. That was the most offensive rebounds allowed since Iowa had 27 in a double overtime at Minnesota on Christmas Day 2020.

Battle leads the Gophers with 6.4 rebounds per game. That's close to Brandon Johnson's 6.3 rebound average last season, the lowest to lead the Gophers since 2011-12.

The Gophers outrebounded Nebraska 37-34 on Feb. 9, but they've been beaten on the boards in five of the last six games since then, including four games by double digits.

Three-point threat

The Gophers were trailing by 27 points in the second half Sunday against Indiana when suddenly pride kicked in, but also their confidence from long distance.

In the second half, Ben Johnson's team drilled nine of its 14 three-pointers to cut the deficit to three points before falling 85-79 in the final home game.

Three players accounted for Minnesota's entire three-point barrage. Seniors Payton Willis had 28 points on 7-for-10 shooting from beyond the arc. E.J. Stephens had 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from three. And Jamison Battle had 13 points on 3-for-10 from deep.

Last season, the Gophers shot a program-low 28.4% from three-point range, but they've made a jump to 37.1% overall and 36.7% in league games this season, both ranked third in the Big Ten.

The Gophers' best three-point performance previously this season was going 13-for-24 in a Jan. 22 win against Rutgers. Willis had a career-high 32 points on 8-for-13 shooting from three.

Willis leads the Big Ten in three-point accuracy overall at 42.9% and ranks second in threes made per game (2.6). Stephens is shooting 40.6% from three this season. Battle, the U's leading scorer at 16.5 points, ranks fourth in the Big Ten in three-pointers per game (2.5) and shoots 36.4% overall from three.

Point guard battle

Fatts Russell and Willis are arguably two of the most underrated point guards nationally.

They play for losing teams, but that doesn't diminish the impact they've made in the Big Ten hasn't been significant.

Russell, a senior transfer from Rhode Island, has scored 20 points or more in five of his last six games, including a season-high 27 points on 6-for-10 three-point shooting in Sunday's 75-60 upset win over Ohio State at home.

The Terrapins have won three of their last four games after dropping five straight in Big Ten play. Russell's 23 points in a Feb. 18 win at Nebraska helped Maryland snap the lengthy losing streak.

Willis missed the Northwestern home win due to COVID-19 protocol, but he made his return to the court and came off the bench in last week's 68-67 loss against Wisconsin.

Willis, who averages 16.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-high 4.4 assists this season, totaled 10 points and six turnovers combined on 4-for-17 shooting in blowout road losses at Ohio State and Penn State last month.

But at his best, the 6-4 captain was averaging nearly 19 points during an eight-game stretch in January and February, which included two double-doubles (18 points and 10 assists vs. Penn State and 24 points and 10 assists vs. Purdue).

In Willis' absence against Northwestern at home, senior Luke Loewe had 24 points with six threes and seven assists in the 77-60 win, so the Gophers have other backcourt weapons. Stephens and Sean Sutherlin have also scored in double figures in three straight games, including a combined 27 points vs. Indiana on Sunday.

Russell's not a one-man show, either. Eric Ayala, who led the Terrapins in scoring last season, scored 23 points against the Buckeyes.

Defensive consistency

Defensive struggles have plagued the Gophers throughout the Big Ten season.

Their best performance recently was holding Northwestern to 37 percent shooting from the field, including 7-for-21 from three in a 17-point win at the Barn last month.

But in the second half of Minnesota's last two road games, Ohio State and Penn State combined to shoot 61% from the field. But the Gophers shot just 29% combined after halftime.

Even in a Feb. 12 win vs. Penn State at home, the Gophers allowed the Nittany Lions to score their second most points in conference play (70) and shoot 55% from the field, including 60% in the first half.

Nebraska hadn't won a Big Ten game all season going 0-12 before putting up 78 points on the Gophers after shooting 58 percent in the second half Feb. 9, including 61% inside the arc. The Cornhuskers scored 40 points in the paint and 21 fastbreak points as well.

In a Feb. 6 loss, the Gophers allowed Iowa to shoot 52% in the second half, so there's been a downhill trend defensively for most of Big Ten play.

Minnesota's last two home opponents, Wisconsin and Indiana shot 51% and 53% from the field, respectively. In fact, the Hoosiers shot 58% from the field in the second half Sunday.

During the Gophers' 10-1 start this season they held opponents to 63.1 points per game, 24.8% shooting from three-point range, and 41% shooting from the field. Obviously, the competition wasn't outstanding as a whole, but they did have wins against Western Kentucky, Princeton, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Mississippi State.

GAME INFO

Time: 8 p.m. CT, Wednesday. Where: XFINITY Center. Line: Minnesota 5.5-point underdog. Series: Maryland leads the series 12-2, which includes 72-59 loss on Feb. 14, 2021 in College Park. TV: BTN. Online/Live video: BTN-plus. Radio: 100.3 KFAN

PROJECTED STARTERS

MINNESOTA GOPHERS (13-14, 4-14 in conference)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Payton Willis 6-4 200 Sr. 16.0

G – Luke Loewe 6-4 190 Sr. 8.7

G – E.J. Stephens 6-3 190 Sr. 10.8

F – Jamison Battle 6-7 225 So. 16.5

F – Eric Curry 6-9 245 Sr. 7.8

Key reserves – Sean Sutherlin, G, 6-5, Sr., 7.2 ppg; Charlie Daniels, F, 6-9, Sr., 1.6 ppg; Treyton Thompson, F, 6-11, Fr., 2.2 ppg.

Coach: Ben Johnson 13-14 (1st season)

Notable: Twelve out of Minnesota's 14 losses have been against teams in the NET's top 50, including seven games against currently ranked opponents. … Junior forwards Parker Fox (Northern State transfer) and Isaiah Ihnen have been out for the year after offseason knee surgery. Fox, who tore his ACL and MCL in late March, has been past nine months recovered and participated in warmups in the last home game. But it still appears that both Fox and Ihnen will sit out this season.

MARYLAND TERRAPINS (14-15, 6-12 conference)

Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG

G – Fatts Russell 5-11 165 Sr. 14.9

G – Eric Ayala 6-5 205 Sr. 14.4

G – Hakim Hart 6-8 205 Jr. 9.7

F – Donta Scott 6-8 230 Jr. 12.6

F – Qudus Wahab 6-11 240 Jr. 7.9

Reserves – Julian Reese, F, 6-9, Fr., 5.7 ppg; Ian Martinez, G, 6-3, So., 3.0 ppg; Xavier Green, G, 6-6, Sr., 2.2 ppg; Marcus Dockery, G, 6-2, So., 1.8 ppg.

Coach: Danny Manning 9-12 (1st season)

Notable: The Terrapins haven't faced the Gophers yet this season, but they've won their last two home games. Arguably the highlight of the season was Sunday's 75-60 win against Ohio State. Maryland is 12-2 in the all-time series against Minnesota, including six straight wins since falling 89-75 at home on Feb. 22, 2017. Maryland's celebrating the senior night for Eric Ayala, Fatts Russell, Xavier Green, and Minnesota native Simon Wright.

Fuller's score prediction (Picks record: 19-8): Maryland 70, Gophers 65.