In Reply to: 2 primary reasons for this loss posted by Fuzzy on February 28, 2026 at 16:23:26
I think the way Minnesota plays, they are going to give us trouble for as long as CMC is our HC.
We had really tightened up the defense and were keeping teams out of the paint finally (the SC game was a masterclass in walling off the drives to the paint), but Minnesota's offense isn't built that way.
Minnesota plays for 3's, and CMC's teams have always been focused on protecting the paint over giving up 3's - we have always (*under him) given up a lot of open looks from 3 and lived with teams making some, and generally losing when the other team makes a bunch of them - which is what happened here.
Offensively, the things we have been doing well, breaking teams down with dribble penetration by Dent and Perry, didn't work well against the zone.
Ultimately, this was a bad matchup for us in terms of style. We actually played far better than we have in any other midwest roadtrip (not against a bottom feeder) lately. I think we would have beaten most other teams in the B1G, but this was a massive curveball that we couldn't quite get the bat on. Good practice for the tourney (provided we get there, and I do think we're in with a split this week).
But, I sure did want us to win this game and show to me that we have developed enough to win off of the West Coast. I'm left thinking we can, but still unsure.