The Gophers got off on the right foot Friday, cruising to a 92-77 victory over USC Upstate. The Spartans held on for quite a while thanks to some ridiculous three-point shooting, but in the end the Gophers pulled away with superior physicality and depth.
Minnesota typically has a few ramp-up games to begin the year before they face a tough opponent, but this year is a little different. They head east for their first of two true non-conference road games (the other is against Arkansas in December) against a good Providence Friars team that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year.
This one is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, which pits Big East teams against Big Ten teams for eight games each season with four games being played at a Big East school and the other four at a Big Ten school. Last year the Gophers hosted St. John?s as part of the Gavitt Games.
Providence is in the ?others receiving votes? category to start the season and should be a tough out in their home gym. It?s a great early test for a veteran Gopher squad who can set a nice precedent in the second game of the season. Oh, and Providence is Richard Pitino?s alma mater!
However, the game promises to be a challenge for a Minnesota team that comes into the season with tons of chemistry and high expectations. Providence is a big, physical team with a lot of weapons, but had problems with inconsistency throughout last season. Still, they present some matchup problems that will challenge the Gophers.
A win would legitimize a lot of things for this team, but a loss doesn?t necessarily mean anything dire is in the works. Games this early in the season aren?t necessarily a barometer of where a team is at, so while a win would be awesome, a loss is far from devastating. If anything, it?s a measuring stick to see how the Gophers compare to a top tier opponent.
Minnesota typically has a few ramp-up games to begin the year before they face a tough opponent, but this year is a little different. They head east for their first of two true non-conference road games (the other is against Arkansas in December) against a good Providence Friars team that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year.
This one is part of the Gavitt Tipoff Games, which pits Big East teams against Big Ten teams for eight games each season with four games being played at a Big East school and the other four at a Big Ten school. Last year the Gophers hosted St. John?s as part of the Gavitt Games.
Providence is in the ?others receiving votes? category to start the season and should be a tough out in their home gym. It?s a great early test for a veteran Gopher squad who can set a nice precedent in the second game of the season. Oh, and Providence is Richard Pitino?s alma mater!
However, the game promises to be a challenge for a Minnesota team that comes into the season with tons of chemistry and high expectations. Providence is a big, physical team with a lot of weapons, but had problems with inconsistency throughout last season. Still, they present some matchup problems that will challenge the Gophers.
A win would legitimize a lot of things for this team, but a loss doesn?t necessarily mean anything dire is in the works. Games this early in the season aren?t necessarily a barometer of where a team is at, so while a win would be awesome, a loss is far from devastating. If anything, it?s a measuring stick to see how the Gophers compare to a top tier opponent.
