Key to a Gophers win at Indiana? Not getting caught up in 'Hoosier hysteria'
The Gophers men’s basketball team is in the midst of a seven-game win streak, including back-to-back victories in the Big Ten Conference.
What will it take to keep that momentum going when the Gophers visit Indiana on Friday for a 5:30 p.m. tipoff? Minnesota can’t get caught up in “Hoosier hysteria."
“I remember as a player going there and being able to win,” Johnson told Henry Lake Tuesday on WCCO-AM. “It’s an unbelievable environment, so you can’t get caught up in Hoosier hysteria. There’s gonna be 14,000 screaming, crazy fans.”
In addition to dealing with the raucous home crowd in Bloomington, Ind., the Gophers will also have to deal with the Hoosiers’ frontcourt of 7-foot center Kel’el Ware and 6-foot-9 forward Malik Reneau. The duo is responsible for 31.3 points and 14.6 rebounds per game for Indiana.
“They got two dynamic frontcourt players that are NBA-type players, NBA-type talent with great size,” Johnson said on WCCO-AM. “So, we gotta be able to battle that, we gotta be able to control the paint.”
Johnson also noted the importance of the Gophers playing in transition and pushing the pace.
“We gotta be able to kinda force our tempo and make sure that we don’t stray away from what got us here, which is being able to push the ball, being able to take great shots, being able to move it. … Keeping our identity. At the same time, you gotta have that road toughness,” he said.
