What Makes Minnesota-UCLA Different This Time? One Key Player

The Gophers face a serious uphill battle as significant betting underdogs for Friday's Sweet 16 matchup against No. 1 seed UCLA. Sophomore guard Tori McKinney could be the key to pulling off the biggest upset of March Madness this year. Here's why.

In her sophomore season, McKinney has led Minnesota with 12.9 points per game this season on 46.2% shooting from the field, 31.9% from three and 84.7% from the free throw line. She's also averaging 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals per game as one of the best perimeter defenders in the country. She has been the Gophers' most impactful player all season, but she has missed four games due to injury.

Minnesota has lost eight games all season, and McKinney was out of the lineup for three of those games. Most notably, she missed the team's 76-58 loss to UCLA at Williams Arena on Jan. 14, which was their lone regular-season showdown. The Gophers played just seven players in that game, and four starters played at least 37 minutes.

UCLA has had just two of its 33 wins decided by single digits this season. Attempting to knock off a team of their stature without your best player would be nearly impossible for any team in the country. Adding McKinney to the matchup should have a significant impact on Minnesota's chances of an upset.

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If you look even deeper into Minnesota's eight losses this season, McKinney didn't play in three of them (Alabama, UCLA and Washington). In the five losses she did play in, she fouled out twice (Kansas and Maryland), and a mixture of injuries and foul trouble limited her to just 16 minutes against Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament. Losses at Michigan and vs. Michigan State at home were the only two times that Minnesota lost a game where its best player played her traditional role.

If there's any way for Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit to motivate her team and make them think they can beat big, bad UCLA, it should start by saying that McKinney is expected to be in the lineup.

Superstar center Lauren Betts gets all the headlines for the Bruins, but their perimeter is what makes them so dangerous. Kiki Rice, Gabriela Jaquez, Gianna Kneepkens and Charlisse Leger-Walker can all facilitate, score and rebound at a high level. Adding a player like McKinney, who can defend one through four, is a serious game-changer.

There's a reason why UCLA is currently an 18.5-point betting favorite for Friday's game. Minnesota will have to play a near-perfect game to advance to the Elite Eight round. Having McKinney healthy will significantly help their chances of doing so.

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