MINNEAPOLIS -- It would have been easy for the Gophers men’s
basketball team to look past Wofford. Minnesota is set to play in the EA Sports
Maui Invitational in just a few days, and the sandy beaches of Hawaii await.
But the Gophers maintained their focus Thursday night and
dispensed of the visiting Terriers. As a result, Richard Pitino’s team is now
5-0 in his first season as the Gophers prepare for their toughest test of
Pitino’s brief tenure.
The Gophers will play three teams in three days during the
Maui Invitational, beginning Monday. Only their first opponent is known, and
it’s a tall task: ninth-ranked Syracuse.
For a Minnesota squad wanting to see just how good it
actually is, Monday will be the perfect litmus test.
“A test, that’s a little more than a test,” said Gophers
center Elliott Eliason. “That’s a great team year in and year out. It’s always
good to be able to measure yourself against someone like that. It’s going to be
a lot of fun.”
The Orange are currently 4-0, although Syracuse narrowly
scraped by St. Francis (N.Y.) earlier this week in a 56-50 win. It’s a program
that was always a perennial power in the old Big East and is expected to do the same in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
It’s also a school that Pitino knows fairly well, having
faced Syracuse several times while serving as an assistant coach under his
father at Louisville. Pitino spoke very highly of Orange coach Jim Boeheim
after Minnesota’s win Thursday over Wofford.
“He does the same thing year in and year out. He does it
phenomenal, but there’s not a whole lot different,” Pitino said. “I’m not
saying that in a negative way. He’s as good as anyone out there. He does what
he does and he sticks to it. He’s great at it. He’s one of the best in the
game.”
The Gophers’ biggest test in their first five games came in
the only game away from Williams Arena so far. Minnesota took care of Richmond
on the road, beating the Spiders by a convincing 74-59 margin. The rest of the
Gophers' nonconference competition thus far hasn’t exactly been a challenge,
but Minnesota’s players feel confident heading into the Maui Invitational.
Part of that confidence stems from Thursday’s lopsided win
over Wofford. The Gophers got out to a fast start and built a lead of 26 points
before cruising to a 22-point victory. They never took the foot off the gas,
something they did do one game earlier against Coastal Carolina.
“I liked our focus (Thursday),” said junior guard Andre
Hollins. “We really came out focused and intense. We let up a little bit, but
that’s kind of expected. I love the way we played defense tonight. It was a
great focus going into Maui.”
Minnesota was shorthanded against Wofford, playing without
injured forward Joey King and suspended center Mo Walker. Pitino said he hopes
to get King -- who fractured his jaw on Tuesday against Coastal Carolina --
back for Monday’s game. Walker, meanwhile, is serving a six-game suspension for
violating team rules. Minnesota’s game against Syracuse would be the sixth and
final game of his suspension.
The Gophers will have their hands full Monday with Syracuse
senior C.J. Fair, a 6-foot-8 forward who leads his team in scoring (18.0 ppg).
The Orange are also one of the better rebounding teams, grabbing 43.5 boards
per game. Beating Syracuse on the glass will be one of many keys to success for
Minnesota, a team that hasn’t consistently rebounded well through five games.
“A big test for us, top-10 team,” said Andre Hollins, who
leads Minnesota in scoring (18.8 ppg). “We have to play defense. We’re going to
have to rebound. Hopefully we’ll have Joey back, have another big in. We’re
going to have to compete. That’s what it’s going to boil down to.”
Depending on what happens Monday, the Gophers will either
play Arkansas or California on Tuesday, the second day of the tournament. Both
teams are currently undefeated early in the year, although neither is ranked.
The tournament includes two other ranked teams besides No. 9
Syracuse. On the other side of the bracket from Minnesota are No. 13 Gonzaga
and No. 20 Baylor. The Gophers’ only chance to play either of those two teams
would come on the last day of the tournament Wednesday.
A game against either of those schools would be yet another
challenge for Minnesota, but the Gophers aren’t looking that far ahead. After
all, they didn’t allow themselves to look past Wofford and ahead to Syracuse
until after Thursday’s game was done.
There’s no doubt, though, that a win against the Orange
would go a long way in helping Pitino make a name for himself in his first year
at Minnesota.
“It’d be huge,” Austin Hollins said. “We’re just trying to
prepare like we would any other team and go out there and play as hard as we
can. We believe that we’re capable of beating anybody in the country. We just
have to go out there and play as hard as we can.”
