Gophers women-Ohio State game preview
Don't be fooled by Buckeyes' record
Gophers update: Minnesota won Saturday's Big Ten opener at Penn State in a strange game in which the Gophers shot 63.6% while outscoring the Nittany Lions 54-21 in the first half, but shot just 42% with 10 turnovers while being outscored by 26 in the second half. But it was good enough for an 11th straight victory, and now the Gophers are looking to start 2-0 in conference play for the first time since starting 3-0 in 2014-15. The Gophers are 19-18 all-time in Big Ten home openers. The Gophers have lost five straight to Ohio State. F Taiye Bello is averaging 13 points and 10.1 rebounds).
Buckeyes update: Don't be misled by OSU's 7-5 record. The Buckeyes have played the nation's fifth-hardest schedule with three opponents — Connecticut, Louisville and Stanford — currently in the top five in RPI. Ohio State handed then second-ranked Louisville its only loss. The Buckeyes start a big, but young, team, starting two freshmen in Jacy Sheldon and Aixa Wone Aranaz, sophomores Dorka Juhasz and Aaliyah Patty with junior Braxtin Miller. But the starting five goes 5-10, 5-10, 6-3, 6-3 and 6-4, while the Gophers start only one player — Bello — over 6 feet. the 6-4 Juhasz (13.3 points) is the lone Buckeye averaging in double figures.
Kent Youngblood
about the writer
Improving the run game, stuffing the run and creating more takeaways are on coach P.J. Fleck’s to-do list.