Former Gophers, Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur, working out for Timberwolves

On Monday, that pre-draft homework includes workouts involving two former Gophers, Marcus Carr and Gabe Kalscheur, who were backcourt teammates for two seasons under Richard Pitino (’19-’20, ’20-’21).

Today's draft workout prospects (continued):

Marcus Carr (Texas)
Michael Durr (UCF)
Landers Nolley (Cincinnati)
Markquis Nowell (Kansas State)
Drew Peterson (USC)
Jake Stephens (Chattanooga)

— Timberwolves PR (@Twolves_PR) June 19, 2023

Both Kalscheur (who’s from the Twin Cities) and Carr left the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program after Richard Pitino was fired, following the ’20-’21 season and thrived at their new schools.

Gabe Kalscheur, who was touted as a “3 and D” star out of high school, landed at Iowa State. He averaged 11 points per game and helped Iowa State to two-straight NCAA tournament appearances. There’s no doubting Gabe’s defense or work ethic but he never lived up to be the type of deep threat (.321 career 3PT) he was hyped up to be coming out of DeLaSalle High School.

Marcus Carr is one of the prolific point guards to ever play at the University of Minnesota and that is saying something. Everything on offense ran through Marcus for much of his two years in maroon and gold, especially his last season where he averaged 19 points off 16 shots (38%) per game, playing more minutes than any other player in the Big Ten.

EXCLUSIVE: Every single person’s reaction to the Marcus Carr game pic.twitter.com/Ha4gpxcDEf

— The Barnyard (@BarnyardUMN) December 16, 2019

Carr was highly sought after when he hit the transfer portal, following the 2020-21 season, eventually landing at the University of Texas. At 23-years-old this last season, he led the Longhorns to the Elite 8, averaging a much more efficient (and team best) 16 points on 13 shots (43%) per game.

Expectations entering Draft night

Neither Carr or Kalscheur are expected to be drafted on Thursday but the Wolves care more about unsigned rookie free agents than most other teams, given the lack of draft capital they own. Marcus Carr is an intriguing prospect, in that regard, and if Kalscheur can regain his elite outside shooting prowess, great perimeter defense and high basketball IQ will always play.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

This morning, I’m (again) the bearer of bad news for Minnesota Gopher basketball fans. Marcus Carr has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, per Jeff Goodman (Stadium). Carr is far and away the best player on the men’s basketball roster but most expected him to leave via the NBA Draft process, not the portal.

Minnesota’s Marcus Carr is in the transfer portal, source told @Stadium.

Averaged 19.4 points per game this past season.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 19, 2021

Carr joins Jamal Mashburn Jr as the second Minnesota point guard to fill out the NCAA transfer form since season’s end. He can still enter the draft but this allows him to keep his options open.

There are a lot of ways to look at these transfer portal entries. If Gopher players think this hiring process will be drawn out in any capacity, and they aren’t sure they want to play under a new coach, then entering the transfer portal makes sense even if a player is open to returning. The new coach will then have to recruit said transfer portal player just like other schools.

If a player wants to keep their options open, then letting other schools know of their availability only makes sense. I still think it’s unlikely that any of Carr, Mashburn or Omersa end back with the Gophers. But at the end of the day, who cares. This isn’t football. A new coach could bring over one or two kids from his current job or from his 2021 recruiting class and completely change everything.

We just have to trust in Mark Coyle, who has earned our trust through past head coaching hires (Fleck, Motzko, Whalen), and wait…

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

All conversation surrounding the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program recently has been focused on the team’s stunning road woes. It started at #13 Illinois, where they hit their first 2020-21 speed bump.

Then, losses at #6 Wisconsin, #10 Michigan and #5 Iowa have piled up in the last couple of weeks, making Minnesota losers in three of their last four and 0-4 on the road this season. The formula for road losses has been pretty consistent.

Minnesota has trailed at halftime of all four games with combined halftime deficits of 26 points. The combined final deficits… 79 points. Yikes.

That includes a game at Wisconsin that was WAY worse in the 2nd half than what the final score shows. The Gophers trailed by 26 points that night, with just 8 minutes remaining.

Back at home this weekend

Luckily, none of that matters Saturday at 1:00 PM, when the Michigan Wolverines will hit the Williams Arena raised hardwood. The Gophers’ story has been much different this season at The Barn.

How different? Richard Pitino’s Gophers are 10-0 at home and that record includes victories over Saint Louis, #4 Iowa, #17 Michigan State and #25 Ohio State.

At home during conference play, they control pace, they play aggressive and they hit a lot more shots. So I’m expecting to see the Minnesota Gophers put up a much better fight Saturday than they did vs Michigan last week.

Gopher bball on the road vs at home pic.twitter.com/INDobcBsRu

— sadam (@Spoornts) January 11, 2021

Starts with Marcus Carr

If Minnesota is going to upset Michigan tomorrow at The Barn then Marcus Carr will have to be better than he’s been recently, especially in losing efforts.

After scoring 20 points in six of his first eight games, Marcus Carr has been held under that mark for SIX consecutive contests. Big Ten teams have decided that stopping Carr is the easiest avenue to success against the Gophers… and they’ve been right.

While playing on the road, teams have had success forcing Carr into a lot of bad outside jumpers, as opposed to getting into the lane and creating great opportunities for himself and for his teammates. The “getting into the lane part” is crucial for Carr’s success.

In their four losses, Marcus Carr is 16/61 (26%) from the floor and has only shot 14 total free throws, 10 of which came vs Illinois. He shot ZERO free throws in their last loss vs Iowa.

Even in their last home game vs Ohio State, Carr didn’t play up to his standards. He shot 3/12 from the floor and scored just SEVEN points off field goals. That night, however, Carr stayed aggressive and shot 11 free throws. He hit eight of them and the Gophers won big, 77-60.

Richard Pitino needs make sure he has plays called that aim to get Carr into the lane early and often. And Marcus needs to bring his A+ game. He’s been underwhelming for SIX straight games…

I thought this dude was trying to play in the NBA?

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers took a beating last week on the road, losing to both Michigan and Iowa in blowout fashion. Luckily, the Big Ten was thoughtful enough to schedule a full work week off for them, while they attempt to lick their wounds back to full health.

Minnesota’s next match-up won’t come until Saturday and it’ll be a rematch vs the #10 Michigan Wolverines, this time at Williams Arena, where the Gophers are 10-0 on the season and 3-0 in the Big Ten.

While they recover, I thought I’d point out a few things that have stuck out to me so far.

Their first 7 Big Ten games:

12/15: @ #13 ILL (L)
12/25: #4 IOWA (W)
12/28: #17 MSU (W)
12/31: @ #6 WIS (L)
1/3: #25 OSU (W)
1/6: @ #10 MICH (L)
1/10: @ #5 IOWA (L)

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) January 11, 2021

#1.) Glad that’s (almost) over

There’s no way to get around it. The Golden Gophers have had the most difficult schedule to start conference play of any team in college basketball.

They’ve had SEVEN Big Ten games so far. FOUR of them were on the road and ALL SEVEN have been vs top-25 teams (TWO vs top-5 and FOUR vs top-10). Most conferences don’t even have 7 ranked teams total.

The Big Ten is the nation’s premier men’s basketball conference in the country this year and the Gophers have seen the very best of it to start the season. That’s changes about to change. Following their game next weekend vs #10 Michigan, Minnesota will play just ONE ranked opponent in their next EIGHT games.

Wins still won’t be easy… but they should come a bit easier than they have so far.

#2.) Teams are containing Marcus Carr

After a scorching hot start that put him in conversation for all sorts of Big Ten and national awards, Marcus Carr has struggled of late, posting less than twenty points in FIVE straight games. The Minnesota Gophers have lost THREE of those contests.

Only in the win vs Ohio State has Carr made it to the free throw line more than one time. Prior to the last five games, Carr was averaging over 8 per game. With defenses’ exaggerated focus on him, Marcus hasn’t risen to the occasion with any sort of aggressiveness with the basketball. He’s settled for more outside, contested jumpers, which is exactly what these defenses want.

Both Marcus and Richard have to find ways to get him on the scoreboard and to the free throw line earlier in games. There’s no reason why contests should be approaching halftime without Marcus Carr in double-figures, let alone getting off of zero.

#3.) Bench minutes getting clearer

As the season goes on, bench minutes are getting easier to divide out for Richard Pitino. Jamal Mashburn Jr continues to get minutes but needs to start showing more maturity with that time on the floor.

He needs to slow down and remember that he plays point guard. The kid wants to score every time he gets the basketball… like he might never see it again.

When Jamal Jr gets the ball, he plays like he’s never going to see it again if he doesn’t score.

— Minnesota Sports Fan (@realmnsportsfan) January 10, 2021

Meanwhile, the clear-cut 6th man is turning into Tre Williams. The Sophomore guard has taken a major step forward this season and he flashes high-end talent every game. His defense continues to improve as well. He looks comfortable and confident.

Isaiah Ihnen will never reach his potential until he realizes how tall he is. Eric Curry is what he is, at this point in his career. He’s limited physically but doesn’t seem to hurt the Minnesota Gophers while he’s out there, either.

#4.) Richard Pitino is nothing special

I don’t know how much of the Gophers’ problems are Richard Pitino’s fault and I’ve been a sympathizer of his since I started this website. But one thing continues to become more and more clear the longer he coaches: He’s nothing special.

Richard has been in town for a long time now and I can’t remember ever thinking, “wow, what a genius move/play by Pitino”. For a young coach who spent his entire life in basketball, you’d think we’d have a few more of those moments.

This season during road games, his team continues to come out flat after halftime. Either other coaches are making better adjustments OR he’s letting his team’s focus die during intermission. Neither is a good look for him.

#5.) We need fans back.

Between immunizations, recovery immunity and good old fashioned social distancing, it’s time to get fans in the stands of Big Ten events. Governor Walz is allowing fans into high school games and guests back into restaurants/bars. There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t start safely filling stadiums and arenas at the major college and pro levels again too.

As more and more people get immunized, we can add more and more fans into the stands. Let’s start with 25% (same capacity as high school) and start figuring out intuitive ways to get the building to full-capacity from there.

Many healthcare workers are going through their second round of shots right now. Can we get 15,000 immunized healthcare workers or other immunized parties into Williams Arena for a game? I don’t see why that won’t be possible soon, especially with a major hospital/clinic right on campus.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers entered Monday night’s game at The Barn vs Michigan State, coming off of their best two performances of 2020. The Spartans, on the other hand, were coming off of two of their worst.

The polls reflected last week’s trends. The Gophers debuted at #21 in the AP Top-25 poll Monday and the Spartans fell to #17. Those trends stayed on course tonight. Richard Pitino’s squad took control early and never let up on the green and white.

The result was tying the biggest margin of victory Minnesota has ever had over Michigan State in men’s basketball (25 points).

Final Stats from Win #9 ????

Carr | 19pts, 4reb, 5ast
Robbins | 18pts, 9reb, 3blk
Johnson | 9pts, 7reb
Kalscheur | 8pts, 5reb
Gach | 6pts, 9reb, 3ast
Williams | 6pts, 3reb, 4ast https://t.co/5WJkk9UEOa

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 29, 2020

The Gophers gave up just 16 first half points to Michigan State and were leading by 20 entering halftime (36-16). It was complete domination. Minnesota wasn’t playing noticeably well. Instead, Michigan State was just playing that poorly.

I’m not sure what is going on with Tom Izzo’s 2020-21 team. For the Gophers, the first half belonged to Liam Robbins, who the Spartans had no answer for down low, and the usual performance from Marcus Carr.

The 3s, they're still falling.@liamrobbins_ // @GopherMBB

????: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/ShIUVB1DFG

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Marcus Carr's journey to 30 has begun.

????: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/9YcWt3t724

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Everyone knew Marcus Carr was taking the final shot of the first half.

He drained the buzzer-beater, and No. 21 @GopherMBB leads No. 17 Michigan State, 36-16, at the half. ???? pic.twitter.com/XulAnEAdIl

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 29, 2020

2nd Half

Things didn’t get better for MSU in the 2nd half. Whatever Tom Izzo team walked into Williams Arena tonight, wasn’t #17 in the country. They did not bring it on any level.

In half number two, Richard Pitino fed the Spartans more of what had been working for him in the 1st half. Marcus Carr + Liam Robbins — and it worked to perfection. If you find me a better college point guard in this country than Marcus Carr, then you will be exposing yourself as a fraud.

There is no better point guard in this country than #5 on the Minnesota Gophers. He showed it again tonight, racking up his 19 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds. Oh, and Carr has yet to turn the ball over more than 4 times in a game so far this season.

Marcus Carr with the tough finish ????

He's at 16 points on the night for @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/QpwnotD5vL

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 29, 2020

How do you think the opponents' ankles feel after a night of guarding @GopherMBB star Marcus Carr? ????

????: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/Z6nh1ZcsOm

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Liam Robbins

Liam Robbins continues to improve every time he steps on the floor and you can see his confidence grow each night out. He stayed out of foul trouble in this game and the Spartans smaller interior defenders had absolutely no answer for Robbins in the paint.

No matter what angle or side Liam was shooting from tonight, the ball was going in the basket. He finished with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks. He shot 7/11 from the floor and two of those misses were from deep.

Robbins will be a force all season and he’s a massive pickup for Pitino.

Gophers shouldn’t get too high on themselves

The Minnesota Gophers didn’t play poorly Monday night, by any means, but they didn’t play all that well either. Michigan State is now 0-3 in the Big Ten and, according to the game broadcast, tonight is the first time they’ve lost at Williams Arena since 2012.

Wing shooting continued to be a problem for Pitino’s team vs MSU. Gabe Kalscheur and Both Gach combined 1/8 from behind the arc and totalled just 15 points. Both players are crucial to the defense Pitino wants to play so getting them back in rhythm offensively is a big deal.

Next up

The 9-1 Gophers will head to the Kohl Center on Thursday to play against the #6 Wisconsin Badgers, who just lost their first game of conference play tonight vs Maryland.

We’ve discussed Minnesota’s current 7-game gauntlet of a stretch at length recently. They’ve now started that stretch 2-0.

Full Highlights

Marcus Carr scored 19 points to help lead @GopherMBB to an 81-56 upset win over Michigan State.

Highlights from the win: pic.twitter.com/2tYygLLwad

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 29, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Richard Pitino’s 2020-21 Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team is an enigma. Even after two big time victories over top-30 teams, it’s hard to know where they go from here.

It won’t be long before we know a lot more because the most difficult stretch of their Big Ten schedule is only getting started. But… waiting for real-time results sucks and what the am I here for if not to predict the future for our readers?

Speaking of predicting futures, I’ve been pumping Pitino’s Transfer U (2020-21) for months. This is a roster that has talent oozing from the sides like an overstuffed PB&J sandwich.

So now that we’ve seen this Gopher squad in both its best (vs Iowa) and worst (@ Illinois) light, I think it’s time to re-evaluate the expectations for this roster and just what it will take to make another run at the NCAA Tournament.

The Good

Same old Marcus Carr

If we’re going to talk about what is right about this roster, the conversation can’t start without Marcus Carr.

Carr has picked up right where he left off last season. He ranks near the top in just about every conference scoring category and assist category.

He’s the clear leader on this team and the Gophers will need him to put them on their back throughout the season. He’s up for it, though.

If your answer to who the best guard is in the #B1G isn't Marcus Carr, you're lying. pic.twitter.com/6mHDch5Hmm

— Minnesota Men's Basketball (@GopherMBB) December 26, 2020

On a nightly basis, the Minnesota Gophers will go as Marcus Carr goes. He can win games by himself because he’s that type of player and, because he is a point guard, the ball is always in his hands. At the same time, if he doesn’t have it on any given night… his team probably won’t either.

Luckily, there’s no sign of Marcus slowing down anytime soon and he seems determined to dance in March and get drafted in April. He knows better than anyone, that leading a Gopher run in the former will rocket his stock in the ladder.

Transfer U (especially big men)

Richard Pitino’s experiment with Minnesota Transfer Portal U has been a budding success in 2020-21. The Gophers went out and found 3 of their 5 starters in the transfer portal and all of them have contributed in major ways.

The latest came on Friday night when Brandon Johnson (Western Michigan grad-transfer) went ballistic from beyond the arc, knocking down 8/9 from 3-pt land and single-handedly downing the Iowa Hawkeyes in OT.

Drake transfer Liam Robbins leads the Big Ten in blocks per game and hit the OT 3-pointer that iced the Hawkeyes.

???? LOGO LIAM! @GopherMBB x @liamrobbins_ pic.twitter.com/8LFzjpBuj1

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 26, 2020

Utah transfer, Both Gach gives Marcus Carr a scoring threat on the wing that he hasn’t had since arriving on campus, even if his start in maroon and gold has been slower than expected.

Avoid Early Disaster

This part of “the good” has been underrated. This is a Minnesota Gophers basketball team that had only one COVID summer to get acquainted with each other. Carr and Kalscheur are the only starters who have played together, prior to this season, and their most important bench player is a freshman, Jamal Mashburn Jr.

Still, the Gophers have started this 8-1 with quality wins over Saint Louis and Iowa. Nobody would have foreseen those victories when this same Minnesota team was struggling to defeat UND and Loyola Marymount a couple of weeks ago, or when they were getting beaten by 30 @ Illinois to start Big Ten play.

The Gophers have 6-straight games coming up on their schedule vs top-25 ranked opponents. If they can win even 2 of them, they’d finish this ridiculous 7-game stretch with a 3-4 record and major schedule relief on the horizon.

There really isn’t a cakewalk game on the Big Ten schedule for any team this season because the conference is so stacked. Still, three top-25 teams in 12 games looks a lot easier than seven ranked teams in seven games.

That’s the stretch the Gophers are currently entering game-2 of.

The Bad

Gabe Kalscheur

Luckily, others have helped pick up Gabe Kalscheur’s offensive slack and Richard Pitino continues to give him big minutes. But fuck, Gabe is going to have to hit shots eventually, if he is going to help the Gophers make a run at the postseason.

Kalscheur is shooting under 30% right now from the field and under 20% from beyond the 3-pt line. That hasn’t stopped him from launching them, though. Gabe currently leads the Big Ten in 3-pt attempts…

Either start hitting them or stop shooting. You can’t do both. We’re a quarter of the way through this season. When does this move from a “slump” to Gabe Kalscheur’s new “normal”?

Inconsistent wing play

Ok, we’ve talked enough about #22’s struggles. Everyone who plays wing for the Minnesota Gophers needs to be better. Both Gach has played well enough, as mentioned above, but he’s yet to really put his stamp on a big game like we’ve seen from Robbins and Johnson, his fellow 2020-21 transfers.

Isaiah Ihnen arrived here from Germany, just before his freshman 2019 season got underway. He’s continued to develop and all of the physical tools are there for him to look like a poor-man’s Kevin Durant.

The kid is 7-ft tall and feels more comfortable shooting 3’s off the catch or dribble, than he does going to the rim. Still, he has to understand the size advantage he has at the college level. He has a full foot on some of his defenders. Get a post game. Until then, Ihnen will just be a streaky shooter with a lot of upside.

Sophomore, Tre Williams, was showing a lot of promise early in the season but his minutes have been cut as Big Ten play has been fired up. I’d like to see him get more time on the floor if Gabe can’t turn things around offensively.

Extending our post presence out to the 3-pt line will not win Big Ten games all season. The wing play needs to improve if the Gophers are going to keep winning games.

Brandon Joseph was clearly on the nice list this year. @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/mwMSIRewzF

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 26, 2020

Sustainability

Yes, winning is sustainable for the Gophers and I only expect them to get better as the year goes on. They should continue gel as a team, both on and off the court, as they get to know each other better.

The wing shooting really can’t get any worse, so if we are beating Iowa right now, how well can the Gophers play when that area improves. Honestly, we have more talent there than anywhere, so I expect improvement sooner rather than later.

I’d be shocked if the Minnesota Gophers MBB team isn’t dancing in March and I’d be even more surprised if they aren’t top-25 on Monday.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers welcomed the Iowa Hawkeyes into an empty Williams Arena tonight for one of only four college basketball games being played on Christmas Day across the nation. I think Pitino and Co would have happily given up their holiday dinner plans for a top-5 victory.

The Gophers played really well for most of this game and held a lead for almost the entire first half. The second half was a struggle at times and it looked like the Hawkeyes were going to slip away with a W… but then late-game free throws and Marcus Carr’s stones ruined Iowa’s Christmas.

MARCUS CARR TIES IT!

30 points for the @GopherMBB player & we are heading to OT! pic.twitter.com/LtxlyogCxu

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 26, 2020

Overtime is Brandon Johnson time

Richard Pitino recruited three transfers from around the country to help add depth and talent to a Gopher basketball team that badly needed both. The quietest of the three was Brandon Johnson, who grad-transferred from Western Michigan with just one year of eligibility left.

He can shoot the three… but that’s not why Pitino recruited him from WM. On Friday night, however, something happened to Johnson from deep. Brandon hit FOUR 3-pointers in a row to start OT, which singlehandedly outscored Iowa 12-5 in the first 3:15 of OT.

In total, Johnson was 8/9 from 3-point-land on Christmas night and scored 26 points in total. That’s three points shy of his career high, which came last year vs Ball State (29). His EIGHT makes from deep is by far the most of his career, which was previously capped at THREE.

Oh… and then 7’1″ center, Liam Robbins, hit the DEEP dagger to finish it. Some nights things just don’t make sense. The Minnesota BTN Twitter account didn’t even know Johnson’s last name.

Brandon Joseph was clearly on the nice list this year. @GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/mwMSIRewzF

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 26, 2020

???? LOGO LIAM! @GopherMBB x @liamrobbins_ pic.twitter.com/8LFzjpBuj1

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 26, 2020

This is a massive signature win for the Minnesota Gophers and makes them a player in the deepest conference in college basketball. With an 8-1 record and victories over Saint Louis and Iowa in their last two games, the Gophers should definitely be ranked when the Top-25 polls update on Monday.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

Saint Louis isn’t a Big Ten team but damn they play like one. There’s a reason they won nearly 30 games in 2019-20 and why they entered tonight’s game undefeated. Still, Marcus Carr put the Minnesota Gophers on his back and Pitino happily rode him to a 90-82 victory.

Carr got help in big moments from Gabe Kalscheur, Both Gach and Jamal Mashburn Jr. Liam Robbins was a force on defense too. Saint Louis didn’t have quite enough juice down the stretch for Minnesota’s wealth of Big Ten talent (mostly Marcus Carr).

Marcus Carr scored 30 points to help lead @GopherMBB to a 90-82 win over Saint Louis.

Highlights from the win: pic.twitter.com/FOWxoOiQMX

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) December 21, 2020

Needed this one…

The Gophers needed this victory more than you and I need to eat tomorrow. Minnesota will start a stretch on Christmas night vs the (#3) Iowa Hawkeyes that will include SEVEN straight games against ranked opponents, three of which are currently top-5.

If the Saint Louis Billikens got just a few more top-25 votes last week, it would have made for 9-straight ranked games. They finished #27 in the week 4 AP Poll.

The Minnesota Gophers badly wanted this game before heading into this 7-game Big Ten gauntlet… and they got it. Now, can the pull out an upset at home vs Iowa or Michigan State over the next week+?

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers came out slow vs Loyola Marymount again on Monday evening. This time however, they couldn’t find the 2nd-half jets that pushed them to an easy victory on Saturday. Nope, game 2 of this 2-game series went down to the wire and it took a Marcus Carr miracle to finish.

Sure, you don’t want to see your Big Ten basketball team be taken down to the wire vs a mid-major like LMU, but we got to see this game-winner from Carr and that made it all worth it. Minnesota moves to 3-0 after this 67-64 barn-burner.

MARCUS CARR FOR THE LEAD! ?

That's a CLUTCH #B1GStandout!

? @AutoOwnersIns pic.twitter.com/bezA7WH1ex

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 1, 2020

This was the first time the Minnesota Gophers basketball team had ever played in a regular season 2-game series, which turned out to be its own monster. Credit Loyola Marymount for making adjustments that really made life difficult for the Gophers.

It wasn’t all LMU, however. Minnesota struggled to hit shots from deep, shooting just 4/16 on the night (25%). But luckily, Marcus Carr was there to bail everyone out again, posting another ridiculous 26 points on 9/16 shooting, 7 rebounds and that game-winner.

Gabe Kalscheur Riding Struggle Bus

He was a regular passenger throughout 2019-20 and he’s started on the struggle bus again in 2020-21. Gabe Kalscheur somehow continues to climb up the Minnesota Gophers record books from 3-point land… but we might need a recount because that dude can’t hit anything.

Gabe was 0/4 from deep tonight and 1/11 from the field. Through three games this season, Kalscheur is shooting 36% from the floor and 12.5% from behind the 3-point line. If Richard Pitino is going to lead Minnesota back to the NCAA Tournament, Gabe Kalscheur will have to be better.

Big Man Foul Trouble

Liam Robbins has now fouled out in 2 of his first 3 games as a Minnesota Gopher. That’s not going to work during the Big Ten schedule. He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t stay clean tonight. He, Jarvis Omersa and Brandon Johnson all fouled out by the time Marcus Carr was dribbling up the court, preparing to hit the game-winner.

Minnesota’s next scheduled game is at Williams Arena vs the North Dakota Fighting Hawks, on December 4 at 8 PM. Life will get more difficult after that, when they play host to Boston College as part of the B1G/ACC Challenge (12/8).

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan

The Minnesota Gophers pulled out their 2nd win in as many 2020 games on Saturday evening, when they beat Loyola Marymount in the first of a 2-game series at Williams Arena. Game 2 will be played on Monday night.

LMU hung with the Gophers during the 1st half of Saturday’s game. In fact, they lead for most of the first 20 minutes. Minnesota took the lead at halftime, however, and never really looked back.

Another high-scoring night for Marcus Carr as @GopherMBB moves to 2-0 on the season.

Highlights vs. Loyola Marymount: pic.twitter.com/tzRBe5JY8m

— Minnesota on BTN (@MinnesotaOnBTN) November 29, 2020

Marcus Carr Show Continued…

Marcus Carr picked up right where he left off earlier in the week when he put up 35 against Green Bay, posting 23 in the first half alone, vs LMU tonight. Minnesota needed him in that first half, while his teammates struggled to find their footing, and he delivered again.

#5 is the best point guard in the Big Ten and he will be there all season, when the Gophers need him. But what was so promising about this game, unfolded in the 2nd half when Carr’s teammates took over.

Marcus put up 23 in the first and Minnesota was +4. In the 2nd half, Carr was held to just 5 points, but the Gophers were +11. Others started putting the ball in the basket and our PG was happy to let them takeover for a bit.

Both Gach put up a box score that should get Gopher fans jacked up, after a shaky first 3 halves. He wasn’t the only transfer to contribute in big ways.

Game 2 – Monday

This is a 2-game series and the next matchup will take place on Monday night at 7 PM. Thank god we get to see this beautiful man one more time. Savor it.

I mean this is a perfect male human specimen. pic.twitter.com/bVftTE7kaK

— PoppaDoo (@Doo2Cory) November 29, 2020

Couldn't agree more with @BenBrust…

Loving Keli Leaupepe's game, hair, overall court presence in this Minnesota vs. @lmulionsmbb matchup. Electric pic.twitter.com/CB9hk8Shyl

— Alex Roux (@arouxBTN) November 28, 2020

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan