Minnesota’s Bobby Durkin knows it’s just a matter of time before his shots start falling.
Durkin will look to break out of a mini-slump when the Golden Gophers (3-0) tip off against Southern (0-4) on Thursday night in Minneapolis.
Minnesota coach Niko Medved said he wasn’t surprised to see Durkin in the gym early on Tuesday, one day after Minnesota edged host Cincinnati 63-61. The victory maintained the Golden Gophers’ perfect start to the season, but Durkin uncharacteristically finished with five points and shot 1-for-6 from beyond the arc.
“No days off,” Medved said with a smile about Durkin, who averaged 10.2 points a game and shot 39.2% from 3-point range last season. “He’s in here in the morning getting shots up. That’s what you do. You stick with the routine. …
“It’s no secret on the scouting report (that) people are going to look and they’re going to say, ‘Hey, we don’t want Durkin to catch and shoot a 3.’ Sometimes that’s difficult to do with all the other moving parts of guarding an offense. It’s just been one of the last couple games where it hasn’t been as good. … As long as he keeps taking great shots, they’ll go in.”
Isaac Asuma leads Minnesota with an average of 14.3 points per game to go with 6.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is next at 14 ppg, and Kyan Evans rounds out the top three scorers with 12.7 ppg to go with 6.7 rpg and 4.3 assists.
The Golden Gophers will pose a test against Southern, which still is searching for its first win. The Jaguars are coming off an 84-47 road loss against Iowa State, which started the game on a dominant 20-0 run and never looked back.
Malik Ferguson and Daniel Dormu are tied for the team lead with an average of 8.0 points per game for the Jaguars. R’Chaun King is averaging 7.8 ppg, and Aaron Hall is at 5.8.
For Minnesota, Evans will look to build on his best performance yet with his new team. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and five assists vs. Cincinnati.
“You always want guys to assert themselves,” Medved said. “It’s different guys on different nights. I think he felt comfortable and confident early.”