Page 21 - Sam Freeman News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH: Changing of the guards When the Gophers took a foreign tour to Italy two years ago, Richard Pitino's squad wasn't led in scoring by Marcus Carr or Daniel Oturu. Carr and Oturu earned All-Big Ten honors last season, but it was Tre' Williams who stole the show that summer on the trip overseas for the team. Fast forward to Saturday's home finale against Rutgers. Williams is ending his sophomore season displaying some of that potential he showcased when he first arrived on the U's campus. In Wednesday's 84-65 loss at Penn State, the 6-5 Dallas native set career-high...

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH: Carr carrying the load In the first half of last Saturday's 78-74 loss at Nebraska, Richard Pitino was desperate for a spark when he shouted to Marcus Carr on the court that the Gophers needed him to score 40 points that night. Easier said than done, right. Not for the U's inflammable junior point guard. Carr scored 21 of his career-high 41 points in the second half, including 15 of the team's last 19 points in the last 7 minutes and 54 seconds of the game. "Almost willed us to victory," Pitino said. "I'm proud of him. He showed a lot of heart."

The center missed his second consecutive game, and the Gophers missed his presence in the paint.

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH: Defending the paint Most teams don't have a shot-blocking presence like Liam Robbins roaming the paint. It's been a luxury for the Gophers to have a 7-footer to erase some of the mistakes they've made defensively, but they've seen recently what life is like without him. Robbins reaggravated a sprained ankle in Saturday's 94-63 loss against No. 5 Illinois, so he's out for Thursday's game against Northwestern. The Drake transfer had his left ankle in a walking boot before the game. He averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and nearly three blocks before hurting his an...

FULLER'S FOUR THINGS TO WATCH: Replacing Kalscheur Richard Pitino never wavered when starting Gabe Kalscheur during a shooting slump, because the junior guard's value was much more than on the offensive end. Pitino called Kalscheur the top perimeter defender in the Big Ten, but his absence now for 3-4 weeks with a broken finger makes it a tough task to find a replacement. Freshman Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 19 points in his first career start in Wednesday's 82-72 loss at Indiana. It wasn't fair to ask him to make up for Kalscheur defensively, but Mashburn was impressive scoring the most points...