Depleted No. 15 Gophers take on young Virginia squad

The main goal of the Big Ten/Atlantic Coast Conference Challenge has always been to see which conference reigns supreme.

Generally, that means the Minnesota men’s basketball team draws a middle-of-the-road or worse opponent from the ACC because that’s where the Gophers typically finish.

This year, though, many consider the 15th-ranked squad a lock to top a young Virginia team (3-3), but with injuries to two starters and the indefinite suspension of Devoe Joseph possibly continuing through Monday’s game, Minnesota is lucky to have a favorable matchup.

Starting point guard Al Nolen could miss “a couple weeks or longer” with a right foot injury that coach Tubby Smith said “might be a stress fracture.”

“They want to watch him and get him off his feet for a while,” Smith said. “I’m not sure how long that will be.”

The senior captain is the defensive backbone for the Gophers (6-0), averaging 2.8 steals per game. He’s also shown improvements offensively with averages of 9.2 points and 4.2 assists per game in 31.8 minutes per contest.

For better or worse, the veteran Minnesota players do have some experience playing without Nolen, who missed the final 17 games of last season due to academic eligibility issues.

Last season, though, Joseph stepped into Nolen’s place to help lead the Gophers to the Big Ten Tournament’s title game. Joseph has yet to play this season, and Smith is waiting until Monday to decide whether he will lift Joseph’s suspension.

“I’ve just got to look at some academics things he’s got to finalize, so hopefully he’s got it done,” Smith said of Joseph. “I know he’s been working hard on it, and I know he’s anxious to get back out here, and we’re anxious to have him back.

“But he’s only going to be back if he takes care of all of his business.”

Smith was also noncommittal about his starting roster for Monday, but if he had to guess, he said freshmen Maverick Ahanmisi and Austin Hollins would start in place of Nolen and Rodney Williams, who is “doubtful” after twisting his ankle during Wednesday’s win over North Dakota State. Ahanmisi, a point guard who can score, and Williams, a wing, have both played well in limited time this season, and Smith said their experience to this point should help make the increase in minutes a smooth transition.

Hollins started against Siena in place of Williams, who was being disciplined for undisclosed reasons, and played a season-high 23 minutes against NDSU, much of which came after Williams’ injury.

“I’ve always been confident in these freshmen,” said senior Blake Hoffarber, who will see an increase in point guard duties Monday. “They’ve been learning a lot, and they’ve been learning fast so that’s crucial. Hopefully they can just keep stepping up like they have been.”

Hoffarber has also been battling ankle injuries but said he was “feeling good” Saturday. The Gophers are fortunate to have the depth recent Minnesota squads lacked, and a tough schedule to open the season helped all the freshmen gain valuable experience that should help until Nolen returns.

“When you have injuries and you have things happen and you don’t have your regular people available to you, then you’ve got to have … given them an opportunity so they’re confident they can go in the game and get the job done,” Smith said.

Against the Cavaliers and moving forward, Hoffarber will need to continue his scoring frenzy (averaging 17.6 points over his last five games). But Smith said the Gophers will try to look to their big men and some combination of Ralph Sampson, Trevor Mbakwe, Colton Iverson and Mo Walker to flourish without Nolen.

“That’s one of the best things about our team: that we don’t depend on one person,” Mbakwe said. “We depend on everybody, and any given night anybody could step up.”