Three keys to the Minnesota Gophers' win over Oral Roberts and how to watch

The barn

7:00 p.m

BTN+

Oral Roberts

Unfortunately, you can only watch this game if you subscribe to BTN+. But we can preview the game and give you an idea of ​​what to expect when the Gophers open the season tonight against Oral Roberts.

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles

Balance sheet: 0-0
KenPom Rank: 245

You may remember that Oral Roberts has been a dangerous non-conference team in recent years. But that's not this version. Paul Mills built ORU into a very good mid-major that made the NCAA Tournament in two of three seasons, including a 30-5 season in 2022-23. But we will see Mills again later this season when we face Wichita State, as he joined the Shockers in the spring of 2023.

The Golden Eagles are now led by Russell Springman, who is entering his second season in Tulsa. They finished 5-11 at the Summit last year and are looking to improve with the return of their leading scorer.

The Golden Eagles only have two starters returning, but the guy at the helm is a good one. They have some interesting signings, but we won't know much about this team until we see them in action on Wednesday night.

KEYS TO A GOPHER WIN

Defend Isaac McBride – The senior guard is the Summit League Preseason Player of the Year and averaged 19.8 points per game last season. If anyone can help ORU pull off an upset, it's McBride.

Find open shooters – I like the prospect of this Gophers team being able to make threes. But they need to be able to move the ball and get open looks. Nobody on this team is good enough to force it, it requires ball movement and collaboration.

Keep sales low – This was an issue last year that I would like to see fixed.

FORECAST

Losing Frank Mitchell to the Gophuers is a significant loss for our thin frontcourt, but if the defense can manage to limit McBride, Minnesota should be fine.

These games are never as easy as they should be, especially game one. But I believe the Gophers are off to a 1-0 start to the season.

Minnesota-79
Oral Roberts – 67