Three things to watch — Gophers vs. Missouri
Frontcourt matchup
The Gophers might not get talented sophomore big man Pharrel Payne back Thursday night after he missed last week’s 102-76 win vs. Texas San Antonio with a foot injury. He was listed as questionable on the Big Ten’s availability report Thursday night.
Payne was the starting center in the season opener, but he was limited to five points and two rebounds in 16 minutes. The 6-9, 255-pound Cottage Grove native is one of the Big Ten’s top young posts when healthy. His inside presence would be missed against Missouri.
Tied for the tallest player in Division I, Connor Vanover, who stands 7-5, is expected to make his season debut Thursday against the Gophers. He was the Summit League defensive player of the year last season, ranking second in the nation in blocks per game (3.2).
Vanover, who played St. Thomas last season while at Oral Roberts, was serving a three-game NCAA suspension for playing in the Portsmouth Invitational for seniors when he thought about going pro in the spring.
The Tigers had one of the smaller frontcourts among Power Five teams without Vanover in the first two games. They started 6-6, 235-pound senior Noah Carter at center with four guards, but Carter averaged 13.3 points and 7.3 rebounds.
Replacing Payne in the starting lineup vs. UTSA, Isaiah Ihnen had a career-high 20 points on 7-for-7 shooting, including 5-for-5 from three-point range. Dawson Garcia led the Gophers with 22 points and seven rebounds. Garcia, Ihnen, Parker Fox and 6-11, 285-pound Jack Wilson give the Gophers more inside depth than last season.
Handling pressure
Missouri coach Dennis Gates won the program’s first NCAA tournament game in 13 years and finished fourth in the SEC in his first season in Columbia. How did he turnaround the Tigers so quickly after arriving from Cleveland State?
Part of that new identity was an aggressive pressure defense.
Missouri ranked No. 2 in the country in steals percentage (14.5) and forced turnovers on 24% of its opponents’ possessions last season, ranking sixth nationally. That same philosophy has been slower to implement with a fairly new roster through two games, but Gates won’t abandon what made the Tigers a 25-win team in 2022-23.
The Gophers have a new up-tempo style under Johnson, but they can’t afford to play too fast and out of control against Missouri. The Tigers, led by senior guards Sean East II (18.3 ppg), Nick Honor (Clemson transfer) and Caleb Grill (Iowa State transfer) average 7.3 steals and force 12 turnovers per game.
Minnesota’s new backcourt this season features transfers Elijah Hawkins and Mike Mitchell Jr., but freshman Cam Christie also had 18 points his debut last Friday.
“They’re faster than us,” Johnson said. “They can play big. They can play small. But with their tempo we’ve got to be smart. We got to be able to play our style but also know at the same time they’re a team that can easily put up 100 on you.”
Free throw fancy
The Gophers are a much different team this season at the foul line. Night and day.
Last season, the Gophers were dead last in Division I in free throw percentage (61.9%), but they’ve shown major improvement so far. They rank second in the Big Ten and 44th nationally (79.7%) in free throw percentage through two games.
In the opening win vs. Bethune-Cookman, the Gophers shot 27-for-35. The 27 free throws made were the most in a game for the Gophers since they made 34 free throws during the 2020-21 season against Saint Louis and UMKC, respectively.
Garcia also went 14-for-16 from the foul line against Bethune-Cookman, the most free throws by a Gophers player since Marcus Carr went 14-for-19 vs. Saint Louis on Dec. 12, 2020.
Howard transfer Elijah Hawkins is 9-for-9 from the foul line this season. Garcia’s shooting 21-for-23 from the charity stripe.
GAME INFO
Time: 8 p.m. CT, Thursday. Where: Williams Arena. Line: Gophers 2.5-point underdog. Series: The Gophers are 2-0 in the series against Missouri, including the last meeting in a 60-56 game in 1960 in Columbia, Mo. TV: Big Ten Network. Online/Live video: BTN plus. Radio: 100.3 FM.
PROJECTED STARTERS
MINNESOTA GOPHERS (2-0)
Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG
G – Elijah Hawkins 5-11 Jr. 9.0
G – Braeden Carrington 6-4 So. 8.0
F – Joshua Ola-Joseph 6-7 So. 10.0
F – Isaiah Ihnen 6-9 Jr. 14.0
F – Dawson Garcia 6-11 Jr. 22.5
Key reserves – Cam Christie, G, 6-6, Fr., 18.0 ppg; Parker Fox, F, 6-8, Sr., 6.5 ppg; Mike Mitchell Jr., G, 6-2, Jr. 8.5 ppg; Pharrel Payne, F, 6-9, So., 5.0 ppg; Jack Wilson, C, 6-11, Sr., 1.0 ppg.
Coach: Ben Johnson 24-39 record (3rd season)
Notable: Dawson Garcia was named Big Ten player of the week for the first time in his career on Monday after averaging 22.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists in the first two wins of the season. Garcia was the first Gophers player to open the season with a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double since Jordan Murphy in 2017 … The Gophers are 19-15 against SEC opponents. Their last two games vs. the SEC came in a home-and-home series vs. Mississippi State. They lost 69-51 against the Bulldogs at the Barn last season. But they won at Mississippi State 81-76 in 2021.
MISSOURI TIGERS (2-1)
Pos.-Player Ht. Yr. PPG
G – Nick Honor 5-10 Sr. 10.3
G – Sean East II 6-3 Sr. 18.3
G – Caleb Grill 6-3 Sr. 9.0
F – John Tonje 6-6 Sr. 3.5
F – Noah Carter 6-6 Sr. 13.3
Key reserves – Tamar Bates, G, 6-5, Jr., 9.7 ppg; Aidan Shaw, F, 6-8, So., 5.3 ppg; Anthony Robinson II, G, 6-2, Fr., 4.0 ppg; Jordan Butler, C, 7-0, Fr., 1.7 ppg; Jesus Carralero Martin, F, 6-7, Sr., 0.0 ppg.
Coach: Dennis Gates 77-51 (Fifth season)
Notable: Gates’ first game as a Division I head coach was Cleveland State’s 85-50 loss to the Gophers at Williams Arena on Nov. 5, 2019. He went from an 11-win season in Year 1 to 19 wins and the NCAA tournament in his second year in 2020-21. Gates’ impact has been felt on the recruiting trail in Columbia. Last Wednesday, Missouri signed the No. 3 recruiting class nationally behind Duke and Kentucky by 247Sports. The Tigers’ 2024 class has five four-star recruits, led by forward Annor Boateng (No. 41 nationally), center Peyton Marshall (No. 57) and forward Marcus Allen (No. 63).
Fuller’s score prediction (2-0): Gophers 77, Missouri 74.