Gophers see opportunity to thrive if they 'live in the paint'

Minnesota struggled shooting from deep in its back-to-back losses to Indiana and Iowa.

Monday’s game against Iowa got away from the Gophers men’s basketball team.

The Gophers jumped out to a 14-3 advantage at The Barn, making six of their first nine shots, five of which were from the paint — many coming in transition with Elijah Hawkins getting three steals in the first two minutes of the game and pushing the pace for quick buckets on the other end. 

But then things quickly fell apart. 

Minnesota shot 7 for 21 from the field for the remainder of the half, and the shooting woes — the mark was just 1 for 14 from 3-point range in the half — seemed to translate to the defensive end, as Iowa beat the Gophers with backdoor cuts with regularity on its way to a seven-point halftime lead, and eventually an 86-77 win.

“We get off to a good start, and we kind of get caught up in I think a style that benefits them a little bit more,” Gophers coach Ben Johnson said after Monday’s game. “We got in the habit of taking some quick ones, which, there’s good and bad with that.”

No doubt the Gophers have players who can shoot the ball. Mike Mitchell Jr. has shown the ability to knock down shots from anywhere. Hawkins can hit from deep, and so can the likes of Cam Christie and Josh Ola-Joseph. A good example of the Gophers’ shooting abilities came in their win at Michigan on Jan. 4, when they knocked down 10 shots from 3-point range and shot 42% from deep.

But on the flip side, in back-to-back losses to Indiana and Iowa, the U has shot a combined 8 for 49 (16%) from long range. Meanwhile, those 49 attempts accounted for 42% of their total field-goal attempts in those losses.

After falling behind by as many as 12 in the second half against Iowa on Monday, Minnesota was able to cut its deficit to five late in the half behind a strong effort from Dawson Garcia in the paint. Garcia kept finding his way to the rim and racked up 30 points as his efforts helped the U whittle down its deficit.

“I think (playing through the post) is definitely a strength. Just to get ourselves going. Playing inside out, everything gets a little easier once you see the easy ones go in when you’re playing physically in the paint,” Garcia said. “I think that’s for everybody, whether that’s a guard getting to the rim off a ball screen, a big offensive rebound, crash or posting up, whatever the case may be.”

While the Gophers have had some success playing inside out this season, they have a tendency to play outside in, particularly early in games. Even with talented big men in Garcia and Pharrel Payne — Payne has been held out of practice this week with a back issue and is a gametime decision for Thursday's game at Michigan State; Hawkins is a gametime decision as well as he works through an ankle injury — the U has been fairly reliant on the 3-point shot this season, sometimes to a fault. 

Johnson said after Monday’s game that teams are aware of the Gophers’ shooters now and have adjusted defensively, closing out on them harder and keeping with them at the 3-point line. That could create some opportunities for the U to look at feeding the post and attacking the paint more often, particularly early in contests.

“I don’t want to completely change how we’ve played and what’s made us good, but at the same time, I told our guys we gotta understand kinda the rhythm of the game a little bit,” Johnson said. “… I want our guys to be confident (shooting), I want out guys to not be looking over at the bench or second guessing. Cause we do have guys that can shoot it, and I want them to feel confident stepping to the line and have faith that they’re going to knock it in.”

So far this season, 40% of the U’s shots have come from 3-point range, and Minnesota is shooting an OK 34% from deep. The Gophers are shooting 48% overall from the field, certainly leaving room to place a greater emphasis on attacking the paint.

“We gotta figure that piece out, whether that’s off the drive, off the cut, off the post up, being a team that can live downhill and can live in the paint,” Johnson said. “And when guys got it going, whoever that is, finding ways to get them the ball in positions where they can do something.”

Thursday’s game at Michigan State could be a good opportunity for the Gophers to focus on and win the battle of the paint, something they struggled with mightily against Iowa. The U should look to take control of the paint early, something it might be able to exploit against the Spartans' guard-heavy lineup. 

“We can’t lay down, we gotta get back up, keep fighting,” Garcia said. “… In the Big Ten, it’s every single night another team’s coming at you, so just keeping that mindset of having that killer confidence all the time.” 

Minnesota forward Dawson Garcia (3) shoots as Iowa forward Ben Krikke (23) defends during the first half at Williams Arena in Minneapolis on Jan. 15, 2024 :: Matt Krohn / USA TODAY Sports