5 things to know after Gophers’ dominant win over Samford

The Gophers returned to Williams Arena on Monday night to host Samford in their first game since leaving the Bahamas with a runner-up finish at the Baha Mar Hoops event. They resumed their regular-scheduled programming with a demolition of the Bulldogs by a score of 77 to 40. Here are five key storylines.

Tori McKinney's return

McKiney led Minnesota with 13.2 points per game in the first five games of the year. She missed both games in the Bahamas, but quickly returned to action on Monday night against Samford. She looked fully healthy with 13 points on 5 of 11 shooting with four assists and two rebounds. She's a player the Gophers will need as the schedule continues to heat up.

Defensive dominance

It wasn't the greatest offensive performance for Minnesota on Monday night, but it was an impressive showing on the other end of the floor. Samford scored only nine points in the first half, yes, you read that right. The 40 points the Gophers allowed for the game were the second fewest this season. The Bulldogs were voted to finish sixth, out of eight, in the preseason SoCon basketball poll, so they're far from the best opponent to play in the Barn this season. But they're a Division I program, and Minnesota showed that there are serious levels to the sport.

Rotation

G: Amaya Battle
G: Mara Braun
G: Grace Grocholski
F: Tori McKinney
C: Sophie Hart
6th: Finau Tonga
7th: Brylee Glenn
8th: Makena Christian
9th: Niamaya Holloway

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Minnesota got McKinney back from injury for the first time since their trip to the Bahamas, and she immediately slipped back into the starting lineup. Dawn Plitzuweit deployed a nine-player rotation before things got seriously out of hand in the second half.

NET ranking

The first NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings of the season were revealed on Monday. It's the top metric used to choose at-large teams for the NCAA Tournament and Minnesota debuted at No. 17. Between now and selection Sunday, you will hear about the quad system, which is used by the NET to determine the value of a given win.

Minnesota's win on Monday against Samford (No. 249) was its fifth Quad 4 win of the season. The Marquette win is considered Quad 3, along with the Kansas loss. The Alabama loss has been the lone Quad 1 game of the season, which ended in a loss.

Big Ten opener looming

Minnesota will have its first of two December Big Ten games on Sunday against Maryland, before wrapping up nonconference play at the end of the month. Maryland is currently 10th in the NET, so it will be a huge Quad 1, resume-building opportunity for the Gophers.

The Terrapins are a perfect 9-0 this season, and they will be a great measuring stick test for Minnesota. Sunday's game at Williams Arena will tip off at 3 p.m. CT, and it will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.