After losing its first away game, Minnesota is back where it feels most comfortable.
The Golden Gophers (2-1) will return home to face Green Bay (1-3) Saturday night in Minneapolis. Minnesota is 2-0 at home, where it has wins over Gardner-Webb and Alcorn State in its first two games with Niko Medved as coach.
Medved is looking forward to watching his players attempt to bounce back from an 83-60 loss to Missouri on Wednesday night. He liked what he saw from them in terms of rebounding, but he’ll be looking for a more consistent effort after his players struggled to maintain a fast start against Missouri.
“I thought going into the game our guys had a great mindset,” Medved said. “We were the more aggressive team. We knew they were going to change and they decided to go to the 2-3 zone.
“I thought it kind of shut us down in the first half and allowed them to get back into the game. … We struggled to get some consistency on offense, but ultimately we just couldn’t make enough stops.”
The Gophers will look to Cade Tyson to lead the way against Green Bay. Tyson, a transfer from North Carolina, is averaging 22.7 points in his first three games with Minnesota.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson also shined early. He averages a double-double with 11.3 points and 14 rebounds per game. Langston Reynolds (11.0 points per game) and Isaac Asuma (10.0) also score in double figures.
Green Bay’s leading scorer is Marcus Hall, averaging 15.3 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds. CJ O’Hara ranks second with 9.0 points per game, and Caden Wilkins rounds out the top three scorers with 8.0 points per game.
Green Bay coach Doug Gottlieb said he wants his players to remain confident despite a tough non-conference schedule to start the season.
“We’re trying to get better,” Gottlieb said. “What happens is once you get into game mode, you’re so focused on preparing, preparing, preparing, preparing, that sometimes you lose sight of the big picture. The big picture is Dec. 4 conference – Robert Morris at home.”
–Field level media
