Opening Tipoff: Minnesota continues road stretch at Wake Forest tonight

The DEETS. Minnesota tips off at Wake Forest in this year's ACC/Big Ten Challenge at 6 p.m. CT. Watch the game on ESPNU or listen live on 1500-a.m.

The READING. In Minnesota's last two games, we've seen fast starts and sluggish (at best) finishes. Sound familiar? Perhaps because it's been an ongoing concern for this team, dating back to last year. My chart showing the tale of two halves here. Previewing Wake Forest here.

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The BUZZ. Minnesota guard Daquein McNeil had his first court appearance yesterday, and his bail was set for $30,000. His lawyer, F. Clayton Tyler, said McNeil -- who didn't enter any plea yet -- will plead not guilty. His next court appearance is currently set for Jan. 5. Read the full story from our Rochelle Olson, here.

It's now been a week since Minnesota announced McNeil's arrest.

"He was a teammate," senior point guard DeAndre Mathieu said. "He spent every day with us. It's kind of weird not seeing him around. But I feel like we're doing a pretty good job with the circumstances of what happened."

After two games -- a win and a loss at the NIT Season Tipoff in New York -- coach Richard Pitino said he thought his players handled the situation as best as could be expected. On the court, the most challenging adjustment is the odd rotations that McNeil's absence forces the team into. Off the court, things are probably a lot more difficult.

"I'm not going to act like it didn't certainly throw us all for a loop," he said after the win over Georgia. "That shocked all of us. But I think their focus has been really good. Maybe because we were here last year, I'm not sure, but I thought they were all locked in."

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The TREND. In the last two games, center Mo Walker has turned the ball over seven times while fellow senior, guard Andre Hollins has collected 12 turnovers. Pitino said he thinks Walker's ball handling has suffered due to trying to force outlet passes in tight spaces. Hollins, meanwhile, has been focusing on not settling for jumpshots. The other side of that, though, is forcing drives when the defense is set and primed to defend them.

"It's always better to have him making plays than settling for jumpshots, so we're not worried about Andre and turnovers," Mathieu said. "He's been bringing it on the defensive end, he's been probably one of our best defenders so far."

Of course, not all of the turnovers can be explained.

"There were some point blank, inexplicable turnovers," Pitino said. "We talk about it all the time. We cannot hijack our team with these things. We did it last year. At Ohio State we did it. Illinois at home we did it. Things that you cannot do. We've just got to learn from it I guess."

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The NUMBER. Heading into Winston Salem, Minnesota is technically already 0-1 in true road games on the season, since the loss to St. John's in the opening round of the NIT Season Tipoff will be categorized as one for NCAA purposes. St. John's plays most of its home games in Madison Square Garden. "Playing St. John's in their home arena -- when they went on that run, that place lit up," Pitino said. "St. John's certainly fed off of that."